House of the Rising Son
by PolarBearBaby
Summary: After their ten month sentence loyalties are tested & trust begins to wane in business. SAMCRO will have to wade through the lies & smoke to find their true allies while trying to balance club life with their families & relationships. Can Amelia push through her own reservations & new revelations? How far will Mae go to keep Opie safe from a more domestic danger? Ope/OC & Juice/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Wow! Another story! Thank you guys so much for giving me a chance and reading and following Mae and Amelia. I wouldn't have written any of this stuff without you. I truly hope you enjoy this next part, it's going to get pretty crazy! As I always say, feedback in appreciated and helps keep me going, so please if you feel like it, comment! Thank you in advance for any favorites or follows as well. You guys rock! xoxoxo**

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><p>"Hey Prez," Mae grinned as she danced into their bedroom.<p>

Opie laughed as he tore apart the drawer looking for his favorite grey shirt. "It's Secret Interim Prez."

She stepped behind him and rested her hands on his belt, toying with his leather sheath. "I don't care." Her voice was silky and her arms tireless as she squeezed him tight. "You're doing a great job."

"Oh yeah?" Forgetting his initial mission Opie turned and looked down at her. "Behind every great man," he joked as he brushed her bangs from her eyes.

"Is an even better old lady."

Something about the words lit a fire in him. Opie was sure it was the total acceptance and enjoyment of both of their roles within the Sons of Anarchy. At his core, Opie was SAMCRO and to have his woman happily a part of that made an almost palpable difference in him and his life as a whole. Opie gripped her hips and, lifting her, tossed Mae onto the bed. She giggled mercilessly as he prowled toward her like an animal in the hunt. They were happy, finally, and everything was going smoothly. With a few quick motions Mae stripped down, "Just a quickie," she yanked him on top of her. Opie held most of his weight on one arm to keep from hurting her, his free hand caressing up and down her body. "Today's a big day." Mae whispered and lifted her hips toward his as he kissed her.

The last months had been the best of their marriage; it was just a shame it had to have been while four brothers were away. There was no lurking danger and the threats closest to home were neutralized. SAMCRO was making money hand over fist with the coke hauling and Opie running the club through Clay. Using the Lotto leverage to keep him in line proved to be the best move for everyone, he was incapable of hurting anyone for fear of being outed but the club still felt secure with him at the gavel. Clay could be a good leader when it came to morale, as long as he had someone calling the shots that benefited the club rather than himself. Personally, they were solid, Opie and Mae worked to get back to where they were and make things even better. They weren't missing anything but were patiently awaiting the moment their family would finally be complete, when they had a little baby of their own.

"It's official today?" She asked, combing the knots from her hair after getting dressed again.

"Yep, maybe tomorrow but no later."

Mae beamed proudly and threw her arms around him. "I am so proud of you, Harry. This is what you've worked so hard for, the way it was meant to be."

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><p>With almost her entire wardrobe strew across her bedroom Amelia finally settled on something to wear for the day. Granted, she hadn't been spending much time at her apartment but she still had a lot of her clothing there. Her stomach had been in knots all week but nothing was worse than that morning. "Thanks for helping." She stepped out of the bedroom in a bright teal tank top and black jeans with faded Chuck Taylor's on her feet. It was almost impossible not to dress up but Amelia knew she had to keep it casual.<p>

Kozik smiled and before sitting on the couch, set down the last box of things from the Denver storage unit. She didn't want the crap but after the lease was up they shipped it to California and she had no choice. "No problem. Don't worry, you look fine."

"You think?" She asked anxiously, he nodded, rolling his eyes and she beamed. "Thanks." Fiddling with the hem of her shirt she looked at the clock and sighed, a few more hours. "I owe you; you didn't have to go help my Mom or me with this shit. I can't imagine these last few months without you, running back and forth to her and dealing with the my evil half sisters."

"I wanted to help you guys, Redwood took a pretty big hit and your mom," he laughed and shook his head. "It's not like we weren't together at one point. I used to really love her." Kozik chuckled, "Your dad doesn't know, Amelia. Let's just keep that little piece of information to ourselves okay?"

Amelia nodded enthusiastically. "No problem, I won't say a word." She and Kozik both went to visit her mother when she had gotten sick and landed in the hospital. It was shocking to hear his presence had been requested along with hers but it ended up being a blessing. She never knew Kozik and her mom had a fling, no one knew actually and for good reason. Those trips provided her with a friend, a big brother type, while Juice and Tig were locked up. Amelia was, in a way, grateful for her mother's promiscuous ways if only for the new friendship that had been forced between them. "I'm glad your transfer got voted through, numbers are low, it wouldn't have happened if my dad was out though."

"I think that's why they voted it when they did."

"You've done time, right?" She asked and Kozik nodded. "What was it like coming home?"

"I don't think you'll have too much of a problem with Juice, Meels. It hasn't been that long."

"Yeah, thank God." She was more worried about herself though. "I visited him but it was weird, I felt like we couldn't talk. We pretty much relied on letters and the occasional call."

That was understandable, Kozik nodded. "I don't know how some people have full blown conversations in those visitation rooms. The guards and other prisoners staring, they'll give you shit for a kiss but another con called my sister a pretty little slut and the CO didn't say shit. I hated it."

"Exactly why we both hated it." Amelia had her cobalt blue dress hanging over the armchair. She and Juice were going to have that damn date and she was going to wear the dress and jewelry like she was meant to. "I don't know what I would have done without you, man." They high-fived and laughed at themselves, Juice thought he was a nerd but he had nothing on Kozik even if he seemed like the hip, sufer guy. It seemed like a strange relationship but it worked and probably saved Amelia from the lonely darkness that she was sure would have enveloped her if she were alone. Maybe that was why her mom pushed it so hard.

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><p>Tara, Amelia and Gemma stood together waiting patiently for the arrival of the newly released brothers. In the reality of the lives they led, ten months was nothing but it was long and difficult for them all, most particularly the females. But, as the club always did, they rallied around each other and helped with anything anyone needed. The girls helped Tara with Abel and newborn Thomas and through that they grew closer and formed a much needed bond as sisters of a sort while Gemma tried to guide them as old ladies or in Amelia's case, a woman of the club. Although she wasn't an old lady, Amelia still had an awful time while Juice and Tig were away, not many saw it either.<p>

She and Tara would take the drive to see Juice, Jax and Tig on the allowed visitation days, a rare few were missed, but it was far from ideal. They sat in a dirty, crowded room with lots of other inmates, they could hardly touch and at times it was even awkward. Now to have them out Amelia was eager to move forward with Juice while Tara was going to finally have her man back and her sons' would have their father.

"I can hear them." Tara giggled as the sound of all their engines roared together toward the clubhouse.

The lot erupted as the men rolled in, every patched member of SAMCRO and the prospects, arrived in formation with an overwhelming welcoming crowd. It felt as if every second passed slower than the last as they parked, removed their helmets and gloves before making their way over to the women. Amelia wasn't sure how she'd react or who she would even greet first even though she obsessed over it for days, even weeks. Juice stood still beside his bike with the bright, toothy grin he had worn daily before his arrest. Amelia's heart stopped in her chest, he hadn't smiled like that since they planned that date, the day this nightmare began. Her airy giggle sent him running, he pushed by Tig and Jax toward his girl. The only thought that got him through the last ten months was that moment and he wanted it to be as wonderful as they both imagined it would be.

"You can touch me," she joked hurriedly as he scooped her up in his arms and kissed her passionately.

Amelia snaked her arms around his neck as his wrapped tight around her waist. Tara and Jax had their own set of troubles over the ten-month imprisonment, ones that Amelia and Juice didn't have, although the young couple had their own unique ones as well. She feared for Juice daily, as Tara did but Jax knew his girl was waiting for him while Juice obsessed over the fact that he hadn't made his intentions clear, that he didn't know whom she was with or what she was doing, for safety reasons and his own jealousy. In his mind, Amelia had been his girl since they first kissed but he was going to make it official, if he could garner the courage.

"I missed you," he whispered as they finally paused for a breath.

"You're okay?" Amelia asked, Juice swore her eyes sparkled but it was simply the sun.

"I am," he kissed her again. "I'm good."

"Church!" Clay shouted from behind the crowd as hugs and welcomes were shared among Tig and Chibs, the two who didn't have women waiting for them. "Ten minutes."

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><p>"I love you." Tara said with a beaming smile as Jax released her and gingerly picked up their infant son. "This is surreal," she looked around, feeling the intense happiness vibrating from every person on the lot, except Clay.<p>

Jax smiled knowingly and nodded. "You have no idea, Tara. Today, it's the start of something you can't imagine." As if she wasn't already intrigued, his confident wink sent her over the edge. "You gotta wait and see though," he cut her off before she could ask. He and Opie made eye contact from across the lot but they didn't talk. The gates of the Sacramento County jail is where they exchanged hellos and hugs, the rest would come after they settled in.

Breaking Opie and Jax's stare as he made his way across to his daughter Tig tapped Juice on the shoulder. "Ya done?" He asked with a scathing look. "Meels, baby."

"Hi Daddy," shimming herself away from Juice Amelia hugged her father, truly happy to see him home and whole but her eyes were still locked on Juice over Tig's shoulder. "Welcome home."

"How are you?" He roughly petted her cheek and examined her face for any marks or scars she didn't wear before he was locked up. "Everyone took care of you here?"

The interrogation was mortifying; her cheeks flushed crimson before Amelia answered the questions with a petulant attitude. "I'm fine, Dad. I actually made a new friend. Not sure you'll be a fan though."

"I'll kill him," Tig spat with Juice silently agreeing behind him. "Who is it?"

Glancing back at him Amelia waved for Kozik to join the little family discussion. "Don't freak, he was a big help since transferring." And he had quite a history with Tig's ex, but that was a secret she intended to keep. "Better a Son," she joked but neither Tig nor Juice laughed.

"You really surprised I patched?" He asked Tig with a goofy grin. "We didn't wait to vote, if you were out you never woulda let me in."

"Sneaky bastard!" Tig pounced on Kozik and after a few dummy punches the two laughed heartily, seemingly putting their drama behind them.

"So you guys?" Juice asked with his eyebrows raised high into his hair. "Little old for you."

"Are you serious?" Amelia shuffled her feet and stood dangerously close to Juice. "After that kiss, you really think anything is going on with anybody?" It terrified her to feel so strongly, it wasn't the same intensity as with Keith but she feared they would end up just the same. She knew how Sons were and she saw a perfectly normal, loving man become a monster right before her eyes. Amelia didn't even know if she could trust her own instincts anymore let alone believe anyone could ever care for her after the way she felt her short life had damaged her. "We're friends," she suddenly turned cold, lost in her thoughts and fears.

"I just," Juice tried to explain but he stumbled over every word. "You know about the prison clause and shit. It's not like you're my old lady and even if you were, like I said, prison clause.

Already she felt overwhelmed, this would take getting used to again. "Shut up, JC." Her fingers brushed his spotty facial hair with a smile; it was hard to make sense of the fear and the longing all at once but she'd try. "Other than hugs I haven't touched another person in ten months, I didn't want to touch anyone."

"That's good to hear," Juice's smile was bright and cheesy but he tried to downplay it. "I didn't meet anyone either, not really my type, you know?"

"Don't listen to him," Jax grinned as he stepped by them toward Opie. "He loved every second in there, pretty little Puerto Rican." Balancing the baby in one arm Jax gave Amelia a tight squeeze with the other. "You good darlin'?"

"I'm good, I'm happy you're home."

He winked and nodded, it wasn't necessary to say he agreed they both knew he did. Jax moved away from them and greeted Mae with the same half hug as he did Amelia. "Mind if we talk?"

"Me?" Mae had begun to step away but she realized Opie was deep in conversation with Piney. "Oh, okay, sure."

"My mom, what's going on with that?"

"Well," Mae grimaced, "She's banging some pimp in Stockton. I know you know her and Clay fell apart not long after you left but she wasn't sad. We talked about it and she was cagey but I could tell she was pissed. She's been great with Meels and Tara too." It seemed unusual for Jax to speak to her directly and not go through Opie but he wanted her accounts word for word. Besides, he couldn't wait, he needed to know who he could trust from jump. "I really don't think she had much to do with Lotto and the cartel hit."

"Jesus, thank God." The idea Gemma, his own mother, had plotted against him plagued Jax daily. To hear she was innocent was a heavy burden off Jax's shoulders. "And Ope, how's he been? This whole mess spiraled, Mae. I really only planned to ask for six months, I didn't want him forced into any of this."

Mae smiled sadly and nodded. "I know, Jax. He's happy though, in a way I don't think he ever could be without the club." It killed her to say it but everyone already knew how much each man loved the reaper. "You have a proper, loyal VP lined up for yourself."

"Thanks," Jax leaned closer under the guise of a peck on the cheek. "Any word in Stockton? I need to know if you heard anything."

"Nothing, so far no one suspects anything but you just got out so, I'll keep my ear to the ground."

"Good girl." Now he didn't mean to sound so patronizing but he did and Mae couldn't help being annoyed. "See if you can't pull that old drunk away from Ope?"

"Yeah, here let me take Thomas." She offered her arms as cuddled the boy close as she easily held Piney's attention.

"We set?" Jax asked as he looked around the lot again with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, coke isn't looking favorable though we should wait on that if we can."

Jax nodded, they could try but Clay would push for that vote as soon as possible. "Shit brother, you did a fine job keeping the club together." Jax roughly hugged Opie, their bare hands slapping the leather on each other's backs.

"Church," Clay bellowed. "Come on, boys we got business to handle."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the favorites, follows and comments, everyone! Love you guys! At the risk of sounding like a broken record, reviews are always appreciated! Also, if **you're not familiar with The White Buffalo's version of The House of the Rising Sun, YouTube it! It was in the season four finale and is absolutely amazing. It's obviously what I named this story after, with a small spelling change. Xoxo****

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><p>The guys were yanked away, rather forcefully, from the celebration to attend church. There was so much business to catch up on, plans to make and destinies to fulfill. It seemed melodramatic but that was how Jax was feeling as he took his seat beside Clay. The club took a moment, looking at each other, to revel in the fact that they were whole again, every member. Everyone was excited, everyone aside from Clay of course, the energy in the room was palpable as they began their first church in ten months.<p>

"Let me just say, as President," Clay looked at Opie for a moment before continuing. "That I am thrilled to have you all home."

Jax, with a cigarette hanging from his pursed lips, nodded and leaned forward on the table. "We're happy too; we just want to get back to business."

"Stahl?" Tig asked timidly, he hated ever bringing up that dreadful situation. "She still in the wind?"

Opie's face turned dark as he nodded. "Yeah but now that we got Juice we'll find her." Turning his cloudy eyes to Juice, now with a full head of hair, Opie directed his next words at the younger man. "I want her, you find her address, new office she's out of, whatever I don't care. I'm going to kill her," he looked at each of his brothers. "I'm going to kill this bitch, we know if I don't she'll be back."

"Aye," Chibs said as he knocked his knuckles on the table. "Juicy'll find her, Ope."

"Of course, I'll start today man, soon as we're out of here."

"No slap and tickle with Meels till I have an address." Opie snapped, not so much angry with Juice but that they'd made no progress in find June over the last ten months.

"Hey," Tig leaned back to give Opie a scathing look. "Don't go there."

"I'll find her, comment wasn't necessary." Juice said with less heat than he wanted since he understood the need for a location.

"All right." Chibs laughed between the guys with a hand on each of their shoulders in an effort to keep tempers from flaring. "I'm more interested in that coke cash than Juicy's wee little dick."

That was a surprising change, Chibs wasn't a fan of the cartel, but his enthusiasm was doing wonders for the table already. Opie slunk down, he and Juice sharing a few words in just a glance. Clay made a few gestures to the newly patched Half-Sack and he instantly grabbed the four overstuffed envelopes from the safe. "All the reward," Clay announced Sack handed each man his cash. The envelopes were thick, thicker than even Jax expected and it brought sunny smiles to their faces. Jax would save his, lock it away tight in Tara's safe deposit box while Tig would certainly waste every dime on drugs and partying and no one knew it but Chibs would send a good portion of his to Kerrianne and Fiona while Juice had every intention of squirreling away most, but using a nice bit to woo Amelia.

"This is great," Jax waved the envelope in the air with a smile. "But, we got business brothers. Ope got me up to speed, this extended mule deal was to secure us protection and we thank you for that." He pressed the palm of his hand against his chest and spoke earnestly, meaning every word wholeheartedly. I know a lot of you had reservations but now we're out and it's up for a real vote. Do we want to really get into business, real business, with a cartel?"

Juice, Chibs, Happy and even Kozik looked at the size of the envelope in Jax's hand, the former two feeling the weight of their own. The money was twisting them all up just as he and Opie feared, at least Juice was backing Jax completely. "It's been calm," Tig said as he looked around the room. "No problems, no one got hurt?"

"Smooth sailin'," Clay said with an unsettling grin. He knew how badly Jax and Opie wanted this vote to go their way but he could see he'd win this one even if he had to step down. "That's even with the new Sheriff."

"Is he on the take?" Jax asked, stepping away from the coke for a moment. Opie shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"That boy is straight up," Piney said regretfully.

"At least with Hale we had an in but I guess he ain't much help with this new promotion?" Tig asked with his eyes on Opie. He hated that everyone looked to him for Hale information of any sort, Tig's question only reminded him of his wife's damn connection with the new Deputy Sheriff of San Joaquin County. The title was great but he was assigned in Stockton and that proved to do very little for those in Charming.

"He's no help," Opie snapped.

"Well," Bobby said hoping to calm the rising tensions. "He can pull strings and Unser has a few friends as well. We're not completely down and out."

Sensing the bitterness in Opie's words Jax made a note to ask him exactly what had changed to have Hale suddenly on the receiving end of more hate than before. "I think we need to deal with one thing at a time. Hale and Roosevelt aren't things we can change, this coke vote and these whispers about that Padilla guy, that is shit I want discussed now." There was an intensity Jax was speaking with that surprised everyone; he was already in President mode and ready to shift everything. Clay looked at him, taking in every small nuance in his expression. "What?"

"Didn't know you even knew about Padilla."

"Oh I know about Padilla, Clay."

"Alright," Chibs said with his hands in the air. "Jax is right, one thing at a time. I don't know about you lot but I'm ready for that vote."

"Why don't we wait," Juice said quickly. "I mean, does Romeo need to know now?"

"He's been asking," Clay said matter-of-factly. "The sooner the better."

Opie, Jax and Juice shared a look, they knew this wasn't going to go their way. "Prez?" Bobby asked as the room waited for him to call the vote. "I've got nothing else to say about it."

"Anyone have any thoughts?" No one spoke. "All right then, all in favor of officially jumping in with the cartel, muling but no dealing, as a long term business venture?"

Clay voted in favor, no surprise there, Tig took a few seconds but slowly nodded, his fingers feeling the cash and his loyalty to his President still strong, Chibs also had Clay's back, he had more appreciation for the cartel after seeing the strength of protection in county.

"No," Opie said coldly. "Money is great guys but with Mae and the damage it could do to our business and our town, it ain't worth it."

Piney had never been more proud of his son, with a heavy hand on Opie's shoulder he smiled and voiced his opinion. "No, SAMCRO doesn't get in business with cartels."

His new status as fully patched member put Kip in a precarious place. He was usually loyal to Jax but the boy didn't know how quickly Jax's vote would change. He voted in favor, as did Happy and Kozik, for the same reasons while Juice shook his head, he and Jax had this discussion already. This was a mess, Jax agreed to do this for Clay for six months and somehow his finely tuned plan had turned to garbage. He had had no time to talk to the others but the floating dollar signs in their eyes proved he had underestimated their greed. The vote was now six to three and with only two men left it was clear SAMCRO was going to get into the drug business.

"I voted the year for protection for my brothers," Bobby said somberly. "No, I can't support this."

"Not that it matters," Jax hissed. "But I'm a no too."

"Six to five, vote passes."

Nothing was said but the room was an even mix of relief, the vote that had loomed over them for close to a year was over, and disappointment at the new business venture. Sure, the vote was a huge blow to Jax and Opie and their plans to legitimize the club but there was plenty to do, this could wait and they could make some good money before ditching the cartel. Clay gave them all a minute to absorb and for some of them to relax before his swollen, pained fingers moved toward the gavel. Opie cleared his throat and Jax had his eyes piercing through Clay to stop him from adjourning church.

"Now that we're all home," he said with sorrow in his voice. "I have an announcement to make." All eyes were on Clay now, only three sets knew exactly what was going down. "It's time I step down, hand over the gavel to the next in line, the man whose blood puts him in this seat. I'm old," he explained as Tig and some of the others looked at him with regret in their eyes, sadness like they were being abandoned. "My hands won't last much longer and Jax is ready. I think you'll all agree to that."

Bobby was the first to agree, he nodded and roughly pulled Jax into an awkward hug as they were still sitting. The only man who really had an objection was Tig but he began to come around as the club all pounded their fists against the table. Jax knew it was coming but it still looked surprised and thrilled, honored even. It may not have been the way he imagined but it was a literally a dream come true.

"All in favor?" Clay asked, even though it was clearly unnecessary. Chapel erupted into a round of cheers as they each voted in favor of their new President, even though some had reservations. Clay was on fire, enraged and feeling more wrathful than he thought he would as he hugged his stepson. "Congratulations, Prez."

"Shit," Jax sucked in his lower lip and smiled as he looked at the table. "This is one hell of a welcome home, eh boys?" They cheered again and extended congratulations, had any of them known how forced this was they wouldn't be so ready to celebrate. "Well, this patch has to go to somebody." He tapped his own Vice badge and looked at Opie. "There's no one else, brother. If no one objects I nominate Ope as my VP."

If any other name came out of Jax's mouth the room would have been stunned silent. No one had issue with Opie as Vice, he was the pinnacle of loyalty and everyone knew that. The room was bursting with excitement as they spent some time with the more traditional patch removal and such before Jax proposed Chibs as his Sergeant.

"Jackie, I'm honored." He said with his chest puffed out, full of pride. "Of course, I'll always have your back. I love you, my brother."

"I love you too, Chibs." He said as they first shook hands before pulling in for a one-armed hug. "It's a new era boys." Jax pointed to the 'Reaper Crew' stitched into his hat. It was a nickname the younger set had given themselves as the new generation of SAMCRO, it was their time now and they had big plans for the future.

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><p>The men filled the main room of the clubhouse, the girls were around as well as some crow eaters and friends of the club, it was warm and welcoming and just what they all needed. Mae and Tara were chatting quietly, they looked guilty just by how closely they were leaning into one another. Jax and Opie looked at them and both chuckled, those two would be trouble, they knew it, but the boys loved to see their girls so close.<p>

Juice was by Amelia's side in a matter of seconds, she had hunkered down at the bar with a cup of coffee and a textbook. "Hey nerd," he said with a shy smile. Suddenly their moment out on the lot when he first arrived home made him anxious and unsure of his next step. "What are you studying?"

Beaming with pride, she looked up and began to recite the Latin alphabet. His face was screwed in confusion, the noises leaving her lips did nothing but bewilder him more. Prying the book from her hand Juice chuckled as he skimmed the pages. "Latin? Isn't that like, a dead language?"

"It is, was, I don't know, but I know my Prof is making us speak it so I have to practice."

"You're taking Latin?" Juice was still confused, as usual. "Why not Spanish or French?"

"Latin is cool," she said excitedly. "Plus it'll help with my science courses."

"I'm proud of you, Amelia." Sitting beside her Juice took her hand in his. "Let's go do something, hit a Starbucks out of town, you can study while I start a job for Ope."

"I can't right now, I have work," little did he knew her new job was right across the parking lot. "Are we still on for tonight, just me and you?"

Juice was thrilled to hear she had remembered his promise in the note. He was planning on laying things out at dinner, he just hoped she wouldn't run the other way. Slow was fine, he knew they were together, in some way but he needed to know where they stood. "Of course, I'll pick you up from work."

She grinned and shook her head. "Why don't we just meet here and head back to yours? Most of my stuff is still at your place anyway, so I can get ready there and then we can go? I want it to be special, I want to look nice."

Juice loved it, every word she spoke excited him. "You always look nice. Plan sounds perfect." Maybe he'd work from home today, Juice wanted to see if she'd made any changes to his house. He didn't expect her to stay or move in but a few touches around the beautifully modeled but stark home would be wonderful.

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><p>"Growing like a weed," Jax remarked as he scooped Thomas from Tara's arms. "What are you two planning?" He asked skeptically as they jotted notes down on a legal pad.<p>

Taking offense, they offered him a warning look before turning the paper to reveal it was simply plans for the party. "Rest those fingers," he said as he removed the pens from their hands one at a time. "We need you two to stitch some new patches on."

"No way." Tara had been in the dark about the change of leadership, it was worth the secrets to see her face so bright and her eyes filled with pride. "Oh, Jax, finally." Of course, Tara was proud, but there was a small pang of bitterness and anger, she feared they would never get out now.

Mae watched with a crooked smile as they embraced, tiny Thomas squished between them. "And you?" She elbowed Opie as he stood behind her. "Do I have to pull out my sewing kit?"

"Yeah, you do, it's official." He pressed the clean and crisp patch into the palm of her hand.

"I like this much better than that secret shit." Hushing her Opie shook his head; they didn't ever speak of that outside their own bedroom, even now that it was over and Clay was completely out of power. "Way to go, VP."

"We got some things to talk about, ladies." Jax said, prying himself from Tara's grip. "How about you two come by tonight, we can have a private conversation?" Mae wasn't expecting that, Opie wasn't either but he nodded and never questioned it. "All right, we'll see you guys around eight."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Had to cut their first night home in half, for your eyes as well as mine and my sanity! xoxo Hope you all enjoy. Thanks for the support! (Review if you feel up to it, please!)**

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><p>After thinking he had sent Amelia off to work, Juice raced home to shower and nap, he wanted to enjoy being home before jumping right into finding Stahl. At first glance nothing seemed different, more lived in that he expected but there were no pictures on the wall or the fridge, although that as stocked nicely. He pulled out the carton of orange juice and strolled around the house drinking right from the spout. As soon as he reached the top of the stairs Juice could smell Amelia, a hint of her usual coconut shampoo and an array of other girly scents he couldn't single out but he loved it.<p>

"Jesus, Meels, you're a clean freak like me." It would a lesson soon learned that his OCD type tendencies were more anxiety related than he ever imagined. All Juice needed was some peace in his life, to not feel alone in the most personal of ways. The club, they were his family and he loved them dearly but he was looking for a little more depth and he finally felt he found it.

He walked into the bedroom to see it too was spotless. Juice didn't know what he expected, clothes strewn about or makeup everywhere but Amelia was obviously ready for his return home. He knew she was probably anxious about the transition, he was too, and that was a good thing because to him it meant she cared how it all went. Him asking to her to stay there, run his life really, was huge and had he had time to think it over Juice wasn't sure he'd ask her. How could he drop that level of stress on her, push her when he knew how slowly she wanted to take things? His lack of time proved to be a good thing though, Amelia was happy and calm, if she wasn't he knew she couldn't fake it and by her reaction earlier Juice could see it didn't do the damage he feared it would.

Laughing his way through his shower, body scrubs and lotions filled his bathroom now. Juice scoured himself clean, sure to get the grime he swore he could feel on him washed away, and headed right to bed. Just as she had done, Juice enjoyed smelling Amelia's perfume and shampoo as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Juice stood, his back aching, and stretched with a loud grunt but before shutting the lid on his computer he grinned at the goofy picture of herself Amelia had changed for his background. Her eyes were crossed, her tongue stuck out and rolled up, totally awkward and weird but it was hilarious. The hours at his laptop at home then the club were stinging his eyes and his head began to ache when he finally decided to give up the chase. At first, he thought it would be nice not to have to bury his head under the hood of a car all day for show but now he missed it. As he stepped into the sun, his eyes barely able to stay open in the brightness, he stepped up the pace over to TM. Purposely, she didn't tell Juice or Tig about her new job and Amelia was disappointed that they hadn't even noticed all day.<p>

"What are you doing here?" Juice asked with his face twisted as he looked at her, Tig entered right after for a coffee after taking a ride with Clay. "I thought I said goodbye to you like, hours ago. Don't you have work?"

"I do," she looked up from the order form on the desk. "And you're interrupting me."

"Here?" He asked, astonished that she would ever leave the real world for a job on the lot. "You're working here?"

"What are you crazy?" Tig asked quickly. The way she drew her head back and her chin jutted out Juice could tell she was angry and he was relieved Tig spoke before he could since he was thinking the same thing. It was such a common phrase that they hoped she knew Tig didn't actually mean anything by it. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean that, I just have no idea what you were thinking."

"I am not crazy, I am helping Gemma and working flexible hours that make school more affordable, schedules easier and I have plenty of time for studying." The words were deliberate and paced, she was trying to work through the mess of feelings that word stirred just like her and her therapist had discussed.

"You know what," he stepped by Juice and sat across from the desk. "I like it." His bright blue eyes looked around the office with a grin. "My girl, you can't patch but at least you're here, part of the SAMCRO family."

Amelia smiled at her father, sunny and proud, thrilled by his acceptance, especially since she could never wear a cut. There were a few things wrong with it, Amelia should have been and felt accepted anyway but she didn't so for her self-worth and confidence it was a plus. Not having a son was hard for Tig and his daughters knew that, but this was something she never thought she'd feel and she loved it.

"You mean that?" She asked. "You're not just trying to cover up the crazy comment?"

"I do," he nodded. "I just hate thinking you're doing Gemma's dirty work, washing and drying, if you know what I mean."

"But if I was a boy you wouldn't mind me running guns?"

"Of course not, boys are tougher than girls." He said with a grin. "I'm kidding, baby. I just know how to cover up a murder, not as good with numbers though."

Standing in the corner Juice watched with a smile, it was nice to see the change ten months brought. He hadn't seen the two interact so normally, although he didn't understand Tig's mindset about his children Juice could see Amelia appreciated it. Boy or girl, Juice knew he'd love his kid unconditionally and they would always be a part of his family, club relationships notwithstanding. Pushing all that aside, he had hope that maybe all the upheaval was over and although the secret about Lotto still loomed large, it was in the past and Juice could keep it there.

"I think it's great too." Juice said, interjecting himself in the conversation. "It'll be nice to have such a pretty face in here."

"I'm telling, Gemma," Tig teased as he got up from the seat. "She's gonna kick your ass."

* * *

><p>"You know Jax made it sound like it was the four of us talking." Mae said quietly as the men moved from the kitchen and into the dining room. "I thought we'd have this four way scheme going or something.<p>

Tara laughed, clicking on the baby monitor, and handed Mae a beer. "Yeah right, they just want us close, I think. Prez and VP, it's different from the rest of the guys, especially those two. They have an incredible friendship; I've never seen anything like it." Jax and Opie did but they also had their troubles, ones Tara and Mae were in the dark about and always would be.

It felt less like being close and more like secrets but that was because Mae knew more than Tara and Mae was about to find out why that was. "I think it's neat, the four of us you know? I never had friends really so this is cool to me."

"You don't want friends like these."

"What?" Mae pulled a face, she'd never heard anything negative from Tara but they were never this close.

"Forget it," she knew she shouldn't have said anything. Tara loved the guys, most of them, and Mae but nothing was more important to her than Jax and her sons.

"Tara, come on."

"I just mean the club, it's dangerous. I'd rather be safe with fewer friends, honestly." Conspiratorially she looked around and pulled her chair closer to Mae. "Jax and I, we were trying to _step away_ from the club. It was getting dangerous and with the boys, it's just too much. The cartel was supposed to be the end of it but, things changed and he still has this...duty, to the club." They all did, it seemed. "Please, don't say anything. I don't think it's happening anyway."

"I'm sorry," Mae whispered. "I won't tell anyone, I get it believe me. I tell Ope all the time I have his back and I do but if he wanted to leave I'd run fast and far. I love him too much to make his chose and really, I don't know what he'd decide. He was out, but I see how easy it was to get back in, too easy. All I know is he's kept his promise, I'm safe and the kids are safe, that's what you gotta look at."

"I'm in," she said with sadness, "With him. I told him though; if it gets too dangerous I'm going with the boys."

Mae was relieved to hear it, she understood completely but she was jealous and if she was ever honest about it, she'd admit she didn't want to lose Tara. It was selfish but if she was there, doing things she knew were wrong, she didn't want to do it alone. She was desperate to keep this family, the Winston side and SAMCRO, together. It was her overwhelming obsession with family, the need to love them and feel them love her that kept Mae there in that life.

"It's been great though," Mae said with sense of lightheartedness. "No stressing, they'll keep their promise."

"I'm thinking more about Wendy lately," she lowered her voice again. "Jax's ex, she's been sniffing around and asking about Abel. He's _my_ son, not hers."

Taken aback, Mae nodded. "Of course, you raised him since birth, you saved his life. I get it, the addiction shit and maybe I'm a judgmental bitch, I would never let her near him."

"Thank you," she sighed with relief. "I wasn't sure because of your history but you cleaned up and it wasn't even for a baby. I don't know how women can do that." The words were caustic, charged with hate and sorrow after seeing how much damage Wendy had done. "She doesn't deserve Abel, she doesn't deserve a baby at all."

Feeling strangely slighted, Mae tried to keep a battle from brewing. "Well, addiction is hard, not that I condone it but you know it's hard. I don't know her life so I can't really say..." she trailed off.

"I get it," Tara said, suddenly deflated with her lack of support. "I just see another side, the trauma and the pain."

"I see that too, but I know her side. Anyway, I get what you're saying but I also feel for her, the guilt is probably crushing. Doesn't change what she did though or make it better."

They sat awkwardly for a moment, both wondering if the other understood their side and view but knowing better than to push the topic anymore. Mae did hate what Wendy did but she felt bad being so harsh on a recovering addict, it felt wrong to sit and attack Wendy.

"We're good, right?" She asked anxiously. "You know I'm on your side. She doesn't have the right to come poking around and dredging shit up, causing this kind of drama. Did you tell Jax?"

Tara shook her head, "No. I was going to when he got out but now I hate to ruin his homecoming."

"Girls," Jax craned his neck and called out to them. "Can we borrow you?"

"More beer," Tara mumbled as she and Mae headed into the next room. "Anything else, sirs?"

With his disarming smile, Jax winked at Tara and pulled her into his lap. "That's for later. We actually need Mae's help."

"Yeah?" She looked surprised, again, and waited expectantly for Jax to continue.

"Juice is coming up blank on Stahl," Opie explained. "Can you talk to that asshole Hale? Maybe ask around work?"

"Oh," Mae clammed up. "I guess? I mean, that's tricky. Dave tells me stuff but I don't know how he'll feel, it's not like he doesn't know you're gunning for her."

Opie and Jax shared a look, they were so good at silent communication it was scary. "It's fine," Ope finally said. "Give me a few minutes and then we'll head out?"

"Sure," Mae said and timidly left the room with Tara behind her.

"Asking too much?" Jax mused as he lit a cigarette.

Opie nodded, "She's still wrapping her head around this. The _moral issues" _he rolled his eyes. "I don't think she'll ever really get it, not the way Tara does."

"Bro, she don't get shit. Trust me."

They laughed a little but it was hardly something to joke about when they knew how upset Tara and Mae got about the life. "So, we're talking to Galindo tomorrow?" Opie stuck his cigarettes back in his pocket as he prepared to leave. "Maybe check in with the Niners? You're home and Clay's out," they both laughed. "Probably should talk to them, let em' know about the change."

"Yeah, sounds good. Look, I know you wanted out, I did too but we can do this. They'll end up loving it, big money with little risk." He pointed his thumb back in the direction of the kitchen. "There's no one else I trust to be at my left, Ope. Thank you for staying."

"Don't make me regret it, Jax. Don't let the gavel change shit, it twists men up."

"I got you to keep me straight, there's nothing to worry about." Jax believed himself and although Opie had reason to be suspicious, he wasn't.

"Brother," Opie stopped Jax from leaving the dining room. "I should have been there, that motel with Lotto. I'm sorry my shit got you locked up."

Jax frowned, his forehead wrinkled as he thought hard on Opie's words. "It wasn't you, Ope," he said earnestly, "It was Clay. You got nothing to apologize for, brother. I love you."

"Yeah," Ope didn't feel much better but he nodded and they hugged. "Love you too, Prez."

* * *

><p>Amelia timidly stepped into the living room where Juice was waiting. "I was wearing this dress; I was actually all ready and waiting when I found out you were arrested. I wanted to wear it tonight, cyclical type of thing."<p>

"You look amazing," Juice looked up from the floor when as she started talking, his eyes lit up with excitement. "I'm glad you saved it." Anxious under his gaze she shrugged and pointed to her bags by the door so he'd know she was leaving. "Guess you're heading home tonight?"

"Yeah, unless I get hammered again, I guess." She joked, slipping her phone into her clutch. "I did leave a few little things upstairs if that's okay?"

Snatching the two suitcases up he tried to play it cool. "Yeah, sure, it's all good. If it's that lotion in the glass jar, the vanilla smelling stuff, I'm totally using it, I already did." Rubbing his forearm along hers with a goofy grin, he winked and shrugged. "I have skin like butter now. I'll pay for dinner so we're even though."

They took her truck, the one she had abandoned at the Denver airport just over a year before. Thankfully, Kozik was willing to claim it from the tow yard months ago and drive it back down to California. The money she offered was nice and made the eighteen hour drive much more comfortable for him. It was strange, she immediately handed him the keys knowing without question that he would be driving, but she wondered why they assumed that. Juice opened her door and helped her in with a mischievous grin.

"Where are we going?"

Juice ignored her question and simply hopped in the driver's side. Everything was a big secret; he wanted the night to be special so the ride was filled with her wild guesses as to where they were going. Juice had this planned; he parked the car and looked over the console at her with a smile. Having to ask was annoying but he did it, he could see how at ease she was when she trusted he wouldn't overstep and he wouldn't jeopardize that.

"Can I just ask once overall, for the whole night?"

"Touching? Yeah," she was kind of put off by the question. "You know what, you can just touch me whenever. No more asking for simple things, hand holding or hugs or a kiss." His eyes lit up and she immediately backpedaled. "I don't mean we're going to like throw down on the hood of my car but it's a step. Is that okay?" Amelia couldn't deny her level of comfort and how badly she wanted Juice but she wouldn't tell him, just in case she changed her mind.

Juice would be a liar if he tried to say he hadn't thought about having sex with Amelia, a lot, especially during the last ten months but he hadn't expected her to sleep with him the first night home. "That's fine," it was awkward and he got his answer so he moved on. "As long as you're comfortable, that's all I want. Now, let's eat."

* * *

><p><strong>Oh! I posted the first half of<strong> **my collection of short scenes from the prison sentence! Check out, Lost Without You. Xoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: First night home, part two! After the boys get settled in what kind of craziness will unfold? We shall see! For now let's finish that welcome home evening! Thanks for the support! Faves/Follows/Reviews rock and are much appreciated! Xox**

* * *

><p>Pietro's was a small Mom and Pop owned Italian restaurant outside of Charming, it was where Juice had wanted to take Amelia for months, literally. They sat in the dimly lit dining room and the waiter stopped immediately to offer the wine list. Juice simply asked for their finest bottle and as the waiter left, reached over the table for Amelia's hands.<p>

"You find the coolest little places," she said with toothy grin. The way he looked at her made Amelia felt naked, he stared right into her eyes with intensity. "What?"

"I don't want to push you," he started slowly. "But, Meels, for me this is more than friends and you know that. You said you didn't talk to anyone or whatever while I was gone," he stopped and took a breath.

"You know it's more than that for me too. I like this," she looked at their hands clasped tight on the table. "And I really like you but I'm also terrified. There's so much you don't know, you will, I'll tell you soon if you want but I know what you're getting at and I'm willing to…compromise."

Juice smiled a little, his shoulders jumped as he chuckled to himself. "I think compromise is the key to any healthy relationship."

"It is," she laughed. "There is no one else that I… feel so strongly for or that I want to spend time with or even talk to but I still need a slow pace. At the risk of sounding like a preteen, we can, umm," she dropped her head down as her cheeks flushed crimson. "We can _go steady_."

With an uproarious laugh Juice threw his head back, the rest of the patrons looked at him with annoyance. "I love your word choice, Meels."

"Shut up," she snapped with a nervous laugh. "What else was I supposed to say?"

"I don't know, but I needed that so, thanks."

"JC," she pulled a face. "What does go steady actually mean?"

"I was going to ask the same thing actually." They both felt more secure in talking about it rather than just going with things. Juice and Amelia had a need to explain themselves and what they wanted, what they were doing was far from normal and with her past it was necessary to talk through everything for her own comfort.

"Jesus, okay." Chewing on her bottom lip Amelia tried to think of the most concise explanation for what she wanted and was prepared to offer Juice. "Exclusivity but no expectations, we're dating but it's chill How's that sound?"

"I like that," Juice smiled politely at the waiter as he poured their first glasses of wine. "That was awkward, wasn't it? Sorry, I needed to know we were on the same page, I hate assuming. I wanted to be suave."

She nodded, laying it out was best for them in their situation. "You are not suave so just be you, JC and like it or not, I'll be me."

"I like it, I like you," he winked and tapped the menu. "I just really wish you would have taken something besides Latin, Meels. I can't read this shit."

She laughed, but couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed, even if it was just in her own mind. Downing her glass of wine Amelia forced a smile as she fought the bubbling anxiety in her chest. _That was a bad idea_, she thought to herself. The self-imposed pressure was already suffocating her as they awkwardly Googled different menu items before ordering.

* * *

><p>"What are you two planning?" Tara asked as she and Jax watched Opie and Mae back out of the driveway on their way home.<p>

"We were just catching up."

"Isn't that what church was for?" Scheming never sat right with Tara, keeping things from Clay or Tig didn't worry her but she didn't like Jax being the minority in anything. The more people he had around him, supporting his calls, the safer it was. With a heavy arm around her shoulders, Jax led her down the hall toward their boys' bedroom. Silently they peeked in on each child, Thomas was quiet and they wouldn't risk waking the newborn for anything.

"Clay didn't step down," Jax whispered as they slowly prepared for bed. "When I got arrested, right before that dealer was shot, he gave me the proof we needed. I hid it, Lowen helped with some clues for Ope. He took it to Clay, laid out the deal. Really, the last ten months he's been making all the moves, running the club through Clay. Part of the deal was him stepping down, me and Ope taking over; if he didn't agree we would take it to the club."

With excited eyes, she knelt on the bed waiting for the next few words she had longed to hear for a year now. "So, Ope did it, Jax. He did it well, just give him the gavel and we can go. We can still go, Jackson."

Turning away from her, he shook his head, his lips rolled in as he prepared to break Tara's heart yet again. "Babe, I can't. I'm meant to be at the head of that table, SAMCRO is what I do, it's all I can do. Even if I tried, he doesn't want it, Ope doesn't want to lead, he's good at vice and I'm good leading that club. If I go, the MC has no one, I just can't do that."

Visibly deflating with every word Tara's cheeks puffed as she fought the urge to cry. "I get it," she whispered and slipped down beneath the sheets.

"Tara, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I am too."

"I know I told you we'd leave but things change."

Flipping on her side, she kept her back to him. "Just stop, please. You keep our boys safe, that is all I ask."

* * *

><p>"You okay?" He asked quietly as the waiter strolled up to take their table.<p>

Amelia nodded and smiled, trying to focus on simply having fun and moving away from her ridiculous fears. "I'm great." Knowing she was being crazy didn't make her fears any less real as they sat together. "Let's just try to have fun, chill and relaxed fun."

"To going steady," he joked as he raised his glass.

Shaking her head Amelia snickered before suggesting her own few words. "How about, to both of our homecomings, new starts and cliché toasts."

"I like that." They gently knocked their glasses together; the clink made Amelia's fears disappear and her heart flutter as she took a long sip, almost finishing the whole glass. "Being cliché isn't so bad, right?"

She shrugged and alternated to water, wanting to keep herself in check. "No, not so much, I guess."

"Oh and I hope you enjoyed your stay." With a perfect catty grin and raised eyebrows, Juice held his thumb and pointer fingers together and pressed them to his lips. "You know that's illegal, using someone else's _prescription_."

"Shut up," she tried desperately to control herself and the obnoxious little giggles that bubbled out of her mouth. "I had a hard time and it was really good. I'll buy you more, alright?"

"It's fine, not like I actually paid for it. Besides, whatever the Princess wants, she gets, you know?"

Amelia opened her mouth to rail on him when the waiter arrived with their salads and appetizer. She looked skeptical but he swore repeatedly that calamari was delicious. "I'm scared. I heard it's chewy." Jabbing a piece with her fork she sniffed it and grimaced. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," he said as he speared a piece for himself. "You're such a baby, stop sniffing and just eat it. I can't believe you've tried it before." Juice hadn't had it either but he was hoping to impress Amelia. He was silly enough to think something as simple as fried squid was really a way to win a girl's heart, he didn't know he already had hers.

Barely finishing her first bite, she began shaking her head and panicking, unsure as to whether or not she could even swallow it. "Gross, no more for me, it's all yours. There's a reason I never tried it before, I hate seafood."

"Damn," Juice grinned as he popped another piece in his mouth. "This shit is amazing."

"You said you had it before!"

"Well, no not really. I just wanted you to try it with me. I didn't think I'd like it though."

"Dirty liar," she feigned outrage. "How could you betray my trust?"

"I knew you wouldn't try it any other way, I'm trying to broaden your horizons. Won't happen again," he promised as he kept chomping down. "Really, sorry, hope that didn't like, mess with your head." Self-conscious was an understatement, Juice's terrible habit of speaking without thinking had to end soon.

Amelia hated to see how her fears made him so cautious. "No, JC, it's fine, I know the difference between lying about appetizers and say, your entire personality and being." Helping herself to a piece of bread as he shoveled in the calamari Amelia sat back and actually began to relax. "Just checking, you aren't a soulless monster, right?"

Swallowing the last bite he frowned deeply and shook his head. "I'm not a soulless monster, Amelia. I care about you, a lot. I won't change," he took her hands again. "This won't change, I promise."

They ate and they drank, eventually closing down the small restaurant themselves. Always a generous tipper, Juice left a large pile of money on the table and with a hand on the small of Amelia's back; he led her toward the front door. "So?" He asked, clicking the unlock button and opening her door again. "Should I take you home?"

"No," she said quickly. "We should talk, I think."

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking up at her as she sat in the gigantic SUV Tig had bought for her years ago. "I don't want to bring you down if you're feeling good." He reached toward her, his thumb caressing her cheek, and she nodded. "Alright then, how's my place?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

* * *

><p>"What did you and Jax talk about?" Mae asked as she and Opie stepped out the patio doors and into backyard. It was quiet, save for some crickets, and the reflection of the moon from Ellie's window shone down on the couple as they spoke in whispers. He wasn't expecting that, she could tell from his expression.<p>

"Stupid shit, mostly. How's it's gonna look with Galindo when we start moving from outlaw, what to do about Stahl and Clay, new shit with you and Tara. We were just catching up, more as friends than earlier though."

Mae nodded with a little "Ahhhh, bromance type stuff."

"Stop that shit," he grunted. "What about you girls?"

All she wanted to talk about was Jax and Tara getting out. Mae wanted to know how much Jax had told him and if maybe, they could all skip but she couldn't. Maybe she could really think it over, find a way to ask without giving up Tara but that would be later.

"You two, Abel, the guys coming home," she shrugged Tara's secret was trying to fly out of her mouth but Mae swallowed it down, "Girl stuff. You want details?"

"No thanks," he took a swig of his beer. "You good?"

"I'm good," she assured him. "Ope, we can trust them all, right? Now that Clay's been castrated, if you will, there's no one else to watch?"

Opie shook his head. "We're good, Tig takes his orders from Clay but he's focused on other shit now. Me and Jax got this locked, don't worry."

"Are you still hell-bent on Stahl?

She could see his eyes rolling around his head as he thought about how to phrase it. "Yeah, she's a threat and she's done enough damage. I know you're trying to get right with that. You don't have talk to Hale, that's a shitty thing to ask, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she sighed. "I hate her but, it's murder." There was no way she could deny him, "I'll talk to him but that's it."

"Self-defense, Mae, not murder." Tossing the bottle back into the recycle bin, he could see she was distressed. "It's fine. See what Hale says and try not to worry about it. You don't have to be scared. We're not alone, even if you feel like it, that's the best part of the club."

"Yeah," now Mae doubted Jax was completely honest with Opie or maybe he was trying to pacify Tara. She wasn't sure. "I'm beat, babe; I have work in the morning." She got up from the table and pressed her lips to his. "Don't stay out here too long," she chuckled and winked, walking away from him. "Night, Ope."

* * *

><p>They got back to Juice's swiftly at that time of night, she used her key to open the door before slipping it back in her bag purposely not giving it to him. Amelia wanted to keep it, she liked Juice's house and the strange way it had of making her feel warm. He took off his cut, hanging it by the door and placed her purse and his keys on the shelf above. Without speaking he bounced up the stairs two at a time and grabbed a joint from few he picked up earlier in the day. No parole meant he could smoke and that was a beautiful thing.<p>

When he came back down, she was in the den, off to the right of the entryway hall and down two tiny steps. Feeling more at home there than her own apartment she had already put on some music, Death Cab for Cutie, and was curled up on the sofa.

"I told you why I married him," she started without looking at Juice. "You probably want to ask why I stayed so long, most people wonder. When he stopped with the sweet, Prince Charming act it turned to manipulation and abuse." Hearing him sigh heavily she glanced up through her bangs to see him bracing himself against the doorframe. "Sorry," she shook her head.

"For what?"

"My mom told me to just tell you, but I don't even know if you want to know."

"I do," he said adamantly. "I want to know everything you're willing to tell me."

Amelia wanted to tell him her whole story; she needed to say it so he understood and she wanted him to know what happened. She thought it was a very real possibility that he wouldn't want to be with her and she had to be honest with him, to her it was the right thing to do. "Everything I ever told him he used against me, my dad sending me away and the shit in my head, the things that happened to me. It felt like a goddamn made for TV movie. I knew," she said with determination, "I knew cognitively that what he said was a bullshit but it paralyzed and terrified me and that was more powerful."

"The shit with your dad? He used that?" Juice asked, knowing she hadn't filled him in completely. "Princess," he tried to keep it light seeing her withdraw into herself. "I don't get how he could use that. What aren't you telling me?"

"He used what started the shit with my dad, the beginning of this," despondently, she traced the scars from her suicide attempt. "It doesn't matter, not right now at least," she quickly said. "We had a great night, we can talk later." Patting the cushion beside her Amelia smiled, it was weak and marked with sadness but she was getting there.

It was clear she wasn't ready to tell him everything, not yet, and that was fine. He was thankful for what she did reveal and Juice knew better than to push further. Letting his arms drop to his side he smiled coyly and before flopping down beside her presented her with the joint from his pocket. "Interested?"

"What, in you or the weed?" She joked and slid closer to him. "I'm interested in both, actually."

It wasn't that Amelia didn't want or enjoy being physically intimate with a man, it was her trust issues and fear that made that already difficult kind of vulnerability almost impossible. Lighting up, he rested his arm along the back of the couch; his hand draped on her shoulder and held the joint to her lips. "Can't tell your dad," he teased before taking a drag himself. Amelia curled up beside him, her head on his chest, feeling very much at peace.

"I think he has his own date tonight."

"Date, as in a booty call, most likely."

She looked up at him; doe eyed, and hoped her cues would be clear enough for Juice to see she wanted him to kiss her. It wasn't so much his ability to read her that pushed Juice to turn toward Amelia, first stretching behind to place the joint safely in the ashtray, but his own desire. "Meely," his hands moved up her arm to her neck, "Please tell me you're not drunk."

"I'm not," her clear eyes proved she was being honest. "I'm totally buzzed though." That was good enough for him; he wanted to be sure that she was levelheaded and willing before making his move.

Crashing into her lips Juice kissed her passionately and with intense need. There was a force behind his actions but she never felt threatened, Amelia immediately returned the gesture. Inching her body down, they maneuvered around, careful not to fall, until they were comfortable. Juice was on top of her, one hand on her cheek with his thumb running along her jaw while the other supported his weight on the arm of the couch over her head. Messing his hair in her fingers Amelia's hands roamed his back and with one swift flick of her wrist, she pulled his shirt over his head. He didn't ask but followed her lead and slipped the straps of her dress down, she helped his efforts by shimming halfway out but stopping before taking it completely off.

"Does it still hurt?" She asked breathlessly, gripping his back, feeling the scar from the prison yard incident.

"No but you're killing me," he moaned. Taking the moment, he looked her over as she laid beneath him, her dress pushed far enough down to expose her black bra and the edge of her matching underwear. She was truly killing him, it was painful but Juice tried to control his urges. "I know the rules," he whispered as he left a trail wet kisses down her neck, between her breasts and down to her stomach. "But I want to make you feel good Meels." His fingers toyed with the lace of her panties as he kissed her hipbone, his eager eyes looking up at her.

"I'll return the favor," she assured him and wiggled excitedly as he yanked the dress off completely. It wasn't as much as they wanted but now Juice and Amelia could experience some physical pleasure as well as emotional. It was a show of trust and a step for them, one they both thoroughly enjoyed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Again, thank you for the support. I have so much planned for this story I hope you enjoy it. I'd love to hear from you so please review! xoxo**

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><p>The next morning, as usual, the guys arrived back at TM. Amelia was already in the office hoping to finish the payroll early and study before her afternoon class; if she could actually concentrate. The night before consumed her mind. She was replaying every little moment. It was amazing, but she could feel her general, ever-present anxiety growing and causing her chest to tighten. They tried to hide the fact that she spent the night with a ten-minute buffer between him parking and her rolling into the lot. It seemed to have worked as no one questioned them. The guys would all assume the young couple had had sex, Juice would be tortured and Tig would see nothing but white hot rage. They hadn't, but even if they had; it wasn't the club's business. She could see Opie and Jax conferring by the picnic bench. Watching them at the table in the exact spots and positions as years before brought a nostalgic smile to her face. Waving as she stepped out of the office for some sun and a needed break, Amelia took in the sights and sounds of a busy TM day. She was home, it all felt right for the first time in too for this<p>

"Hey guys," Juice greeted the two casually as he moved toward the clubhouse. "What's up?"

"Thanks," Jax called out randomly and Juice stopped, looking back at them confused.

"Huh? What the hell did I do now?"

"Sit down, shithead. I'm talking about your help with the coke vote."

Juice nodded and took a seat beside Opie. He caught Amelia looking and he grinned sweetly at her; he too was thinking hard on their night. "Lotta good it did, we're locked in now."

"We can still get out; eventually. We just need to know you're committed to legit business."

"How's the money?"

Jax and Opie knew that would be a huge issue for every one of the guys. It was even an issue for them, but those fueled their ideas for much more lucrative ventures rather than kept them working as criminals. "Not as good as the coke at first, but we work at it. We could still be making bank and not having to cover our asses or worry about our blowback hurting anyone else."

"Ten months is shit compared to five years," Opie added somberly. "And I'm tired of people getting hurt."

"We all are, but that's not just business," Juice said. "Did Clay ever say why? I want to ask him myself."

Juice wasn't entirely in the fold when it came to Clay and the others, but he knew enough and still hadn't said a word; not even to Amelia. Jax and Opie figured it was best to have him on board completely; they felt they could trust him. "Not really, just blamed us. We all get too distracted by _pussy_." At that word, Jax's nostrils flared and his eyebrows furrowed. "I put him in place and he knows the girls are off limits."

"He's such a fucking piece of shit." Jax snapped, popping up to his feet. "If he said that to me, I'd have knocked him the fuck out. No one calls Tara that shit, no fucking way."

"Alright," Opie said motioning for Jax to relax; he was always so easily fired up. "I took care of it. He's done man, look at him." The three of them flicked their eyes toward TM where Clay lingered with a cup of coffee. Juice immediately wanted to shoo him away from Amelia's immediate proximity, but he stayed put and simply stewed. "We go legal and we have no enemies, not the ones we do now at least."

With a confident nod and stern look, Juice agreed. "Alright, I got your back but you have to tell me everything. I don't want to be in the dark with any of this. Secrets and shit, I hate it."

"Next he'll demand the Sergeant patch," Opie joked.

Juice shook his head. He wasn't sure he was one for an official position. He was perfectly happy as a soldier. "Nah, I'm good. Unless it's shady shit," he eyed them both. "I got your back, I want what's best for the club and Clay isn't what's best."

"No shit," Jax agreed as Chibs finally arrived and joined them at the table. "We're heading out to meet with Romeo and I want you two with us."

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><p>As the four of them rolled up on the meeting sight, Romeo hopped out of the oversized SUV he spent his days chauffeured around in. He wore a stern look on his face. He wasn't usually one to smile, but he looked especially perturbed at the very least. Jax quickened his pace to match Opie beside him, and whispered, "Thought we were cool with him?"<p>

"Far as I know, we are." Switching gears mentally, Opie extended his hand and was suddenly purely business. It was a side Jax was rarely able to see and it amused him. "Romeo, I told you there'd be some changes come release." He gestured toward Jax's pristine President patch. Uncharacteristically, his face lit up as he enthusiastically shook Jax's hand.

"Congratulations, I'm glad to see you're out in one piece." His eyes fell on Juice, the only one of the group he hadn't met and clearly the Puerto Rican he knew to be the victim of a retaliation attack in the yard. "You're healed?"

"I am," he said slowly, surprised that Romeo acknowledged it.

"Let's talk business then, gentlemen. I know you just got home, but we were hoping to be able to move forward, know where we are logistically."

Looking at Chibs, Jax gave him a very clear instruction to stay put; it was silent but easily understood. Jax, Romeo, Opie and Torres strolled ahead at a leisurely pace, the latter two a few steps behind. "We appreciated what you did for us, the protection, and I'm sorry for any shit my guy threw your way with that fight." It sounded as if they were turning down the offer and both Romeo and Torres looked extremely put out. "But our decision has nothing to do with feeling we owe you. We talked, voted, and it passed. We all want this business."

Such bold lies, but Jax delivered them perfectly. He didn't want anyone outside the other Sons with him to know how much he despised the arrangement. "I was afraid the change wasn't good for us," Romeo laughed. "Good to know we are all on the same page. I trust Clay's removal had nothing to do with what happened. We settled that, it was far from sole blame on either side."

"Clay stepped down, it was a long time coming. There aren't any hard feelings; he's on board with this, we're all good."

"That one; the Scot" Romeo pointed to Chibs. "I hear he's ex IRA?"

"Yeah," Opie muttered, wondering what Romeo would want with Chibs.

"I know you run their guns; you're the go to for guns in Northern Cali. I'm not looking to take any money from your pockets, but I'm afraid our needs might surpass your ability." Jax was taken aback, shocked and feeling monumentally betrayed before he could think logically about what it meant. "Direct business might be best for everyone, but we're still willing to give you your cut."

"You want to work directly with the IRA?" Opie almost sounded giddy. It was a big task to set up. Even though they were looking for a way out of guns, Galen and company were not known for advocating racial harmony. "But you need our hookup; you know those pricks won't fuck with a cartel."

"Exactly," Torres answered as Romeo and Jax silently thought on their own next moves.

"I don't know," Jax said slowly. "I gotta be honest, I wasn't expecting to be pushed out but," he paused with a look to Opie then back toward Chibs and Juice. "Let me talk to my guys."

"That's all we ask," Romeo said with a smirk. "Give me a call when you're ready to deal."

Jax and Opie stepped away with handshakes and headed back to their bikes and the others. "Did that really just happen?" Jax asked in a hushed tone, still astonished. "If we can hook that up, shit, we're half out."

"I didn't think you were that excited when he said it." Opie mumbled as they made it back to the others. "You actually had me going. If he knew how bad we wanted out, we wouldn't be getting that percent."

"I think our biggest problem are those Irish pricks focusing less on brown and more on green."

"And what about the table, how's that gonna land?" Ope asked, knowing it might be easier than he feared.

"One thing at a time, brother."

"How'd that go?" Chibs piped in as the other two finally reached them.

They stood in silence as Romeo packed up and the SUV rolled on down the path right by them. Jax nodded at Torres before looking at his guys again. "We gotta talk," Jax said as his phone began to ring. "Yeah?" He barked at Bobby over the phone. "Goddamn it, yeah... No, I want everyone there. Call LaRoy, let him know we can't make it. Set up something for tomorrow."

Bobby's call had annoyed Jax far worse than whatever Galindo requested and they all could see it.

"What now?" Pushing his sunglasses up his nose, Juice was feeling the anxiety that came with being in the inner circle; he still liked it though.

"Irish," Jax said, side eyeing Opie. "Galen's bitching, wants to meet with us today."

As usual the most aggravated was Chibs, with good reason as well. "What do they want?"

"Not sure, but Galen's in town. This shit was planned." Jax spat. "They're either spot checking us or he heard about the change."

"How though?" Rarely did Juice interject himself, but he was growing more and more confident. The switch wouldn't be worrisome; if they'd agreed upon it, but Clay's hand was forced and he and Galen had more than a business relationship.

Looking at Chibs, Opie shrugged. Clay may have opened his mouth, but it was a quick reaction. Other than that, they didn't know how. Chibs wouldn't have mentioned it and word had yet to spread that far. "Worry about that later. We got two hours till we meet with the rest of the club and head up. Juice, head back to TM and make sure we have everyone. Bobby's not on the lot."

"Filthy Irish pigs," Chibs groaned as he started his bike. "Just when everything was finally smooth they're gonna jump up our asses."

"I'd rather have the Micks than the Feds," Juice added as Jax and Opie rolled on ahead.

Chibs shook his head, "Careful what you wish for, Juicy."

* * *

><p>They headed out with Jax leading the way. The change still didn't sit right with Tig as he watched them roll off the lot. He lingered around TM. Even though the bays were full,there was nothing mechanical for him to actually do. Tig had an idea; something he could take care of now that the lot was lacking a large number of Sons. Flicking his cigarette out he stepped into the office, the rusted old threshold squeaked as his boot scraped along it.<p>

"Hey baby," his sweet smile put Amelia on edge instantly. She was sure he was up to something. "How's work?" When his fingers wiggled around, gesturing her new workspace, his rings clinked together. They were both so used to the noise that neither of them really heard it.

"It's work," she shrugged, trying to push the conversation along. "How was your date?"

Tig chuckled and pinched his chin as he thought back on the blur that was the night before. "Fun, speaking of dates, I wanted to see how yours went."

"Who told you?" The pencil she'd been rolling between her fingers dropped to the desk. "Or are you spying?"

Drawing his head back, Tig looked hurt. "I don't spy."

"Okay. Then who told you?"

"Overheard Juice making the reservation; figured it had to be you. If it wasn't though I was going to kick his fucking ass."

Amelia rolled her eyes and sat back against the swivel desk chair. "He goes out with someone else and that's a problem, but I have a feeling you came in here to tell me he can't go out with me either."

"It's Juice," he said staunchly. When she was little Tig figured and hoped she'd eventually become an old lady,but with the way the club had shifted he didn't want that for her. As they sat there, Tig worried she'd ask why, specifically, because he didn't have an answer. He wanted her there, a part of the club in whatever capacity she could be, but being with Juice was not what he wanted for his youngest.

"Exactly, he's a good guy." She snapped. "Better than Keith and you. He's not some macho asshole and I like him. Really, shouldn't that be what matters?"

"No." Tig grew angry as he sat there. Staring at her fierce eyes, he saw his own determination and he knew it would be a hellish fight. "I don't want anything to happen to you, Amelia."

"What?" With a twisted expression, she slowly realized what Tig's issue was. "Donna? Is that what has you so upset?"

"I don't want that to be you," he said softly, his anger replaced by sorrow. "I couldn't bear it, baby."

It was these moments between them that Amelia felt more loved than ever. She desperately wanted Tig's approval and love and although this was not the way she wished he'd express it, it worked.

"Dad, I'll be okay. I have you and JC watching my back;even Jax. I can't believe another crew would do that," she said thinking back. "It was a mistake anyway, right? Whoever did it was going after Ope?"

Tig's eyes closed and he dropped his head into his hands. "Yeah, it was an accident."

"I know the risk from other clubs, but I'm here. The only way to keep me safe is if I leave and I'm not leaving again." Amelia spoke confidently and her voice didn't waver; she was sure of her decision. "I don't want to. I don't want to leave you or JC or Gemma; Mae and Tara either."

He'd never tell who pulled the trigger that night or that he was scared of more than just other crews. At the time, Tig swore what he was doing was the right thing. He had to protect SAMCRO and that kind of wrong judgment could very well happen again.

"I don't like it."

"I know, take comfort in knowing he's not like you." Amelia tried to lighten the mood, but Tig had more than Juice's relationship with his daughter bringing him into such a dark place.

"I can't approve," he said sadly. "Guess I can't stop you though."

She shook her head, grateful now that Juice had grown so close to Jax, the new president. "You can't and I'm not sorry. You want someone to criticize, look to Dawn and Fawn. I hear one is banging some piece of shit felon," she paused for a second. "He's a real asshole, not like the stand-up felon I'm with."

"Amelia," he said with a gravely, frightening tone. "Don't go there. I thought you came home to be here not to find another," he stopped before he offended her and shook his head.

"I did!" She shouted loud enough to call the attention of the two civilian TM mechanics. "I didn't plan on meeting him. I didn't want anything, but I can't help it. I let Keith and that asshole who attacked me ruin enough. Don't you think it's about time I get to be happy?"

With an apologetic and incredibly uncomfortable look on his face, Juice poked his head in the office. "Sorry," he cringed as Amelia glowered at him. "We need you Tiggy, meeting with the Irish."

"Go," she said coldly. "Be careful; both of you."

* * *

><p>"A few fights; Juice got stuck, but they're all home safe. I know you said it's really under wraps, but I just wanted to ask." Mae said with her eyes on the clock. "We just need to know for sure she's not around, Dave. Honestly, it's self-preservation." He didn't know much, Stahl hadn't been around since the arrest and he surprisingly hadn't heard from her.<p>

They were both sitting back, legs crossed with their phones wedged in their necks as they spoke. Mae spun slowly, her eye lids were heavy with a constant fatigue she couldn't shake. "You'll ask around?" She asked as he explained that he wasn't the only one surprised by her disappearance. No one expected her actually to give up. "I am too, I feel like I'm constantly looking over my shoulder."

"You're safe; from Stahl at least."

"Let's not start listing the dangers of my life, it's not like you're knitting somewhere in a corner."

"You can't compare our lives, Mae." Dave said.

He caught a glimpse of his own blurred reflection in the base of the small lamp on his desk. Who he had become was a far reach from what he ever imagined. Every time she called, Dave knew what it was; she needed information. If he wasn't sure she at least considered him a friend, he'd never speak with her but he knew how it was. It didn't matter whether she enjoyed having any kind of relationship with him or not, that was impossible now. He felt Opie tasking her with a call was the only way she knew it was appropriate to talk with him. Dave was cagey (great word);giving her the least he could while they caught up and had lengthy conversations. It wasn't just her to blame; he couldn't be friends with her, not any longer. There were too many conflicts for both of them, but they did what they could. Dave still loved Mae and wanted her to know if she ever needed anything he was always there.

"Yeah, I know." Flipping the switch it was time to get to work, Mae could hardly pull herself together. "I have to go, I have session with a prisoner. It was nice talking to you, David."

He chucked sadly, "It was. If you need anything, call me."

"I will, thanks."

Mae hated that Stahl was in the wind. She half expected her just to show up around some random corner one day. Clutching her notepad, she smiled at Ross, the usual guard, as he opened the door to the meeting room. She stopped, seeing Otto sitting there looking right at her, and looked at Ross again. "He's not my prisoner, I can't meet with him."

"You can, ma'am." He winked, "It's all good." With a light push, he shut the door and flicked the camera light off.

"The illustrious Otto Delaney. It's nice to meet you." Mae stood by the door, this all felt very wrong.

"This ain't a social call." His cuffs rattled as he pointed to the chair across from him. "Sit." Looking her over, he nodded and as she sat, tugged at her sleeve. "Covering up those prison tattoos, huh?"

Mae stood and glancing around, lifted her shirt to display the newest of her collection, a crow on her rib cage with Opie's name scrawled below in ornate script. It was old school style with a scroll and club lettering, just like Gemma's and Tara's, although tailored to her tastes and of course her old man. Most old ladies did it; each design was standard with individual differences to distinguish each couple from another.

"What is this some kind of test? Proving who I am?" They hadn't met and Mae had respect his suspicions.

"Yeah," he chuckled to himself. Otto was skeptical of the new women; the ones who hadn't been in the life prior like Luann and Gemma. "You need to tell Clay to visit his buyers."

"Clay stepped down," she said taking her seat again. "Jax is president now and Ope is his VP. Why, what's going on?"

Leaning forward he rolled his jaw; he should have been told of the change by a brother not an old lady. "Just whispers, it's better for everyone if he addresses the rumors himself. Tell him to shove the pride and get over to the Niners first;black is talking big in here."

"Okay, are you okay though?"

"I'm just fine, you don't worry about that."

She nodded and grabbed her things again. "How did you get the private room? Set all this up without help from the club?"

"I have my ways, Miss Mae."


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm still recovering from last night. Very sad. ****So much love and thanks, everyone! xoxo Love hearing from you, comment away!**

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><p>Finishing up rounds, Tara was rushing back down the hall toward her office. As much as she didn't want to go to the clubhouse, Tara had no choice. Not only was the party to celebrate the men coming home, but also in honor of the change of leadership. It was a momentous occasion and as Jax's old lady, the new queen, she had to be in attendance.<p>

"What are you doing here?" Tara was trying to decide between two different antibiotics when she saw Wendy lingering around the NICU. "You should leave."

With a sad smile, she looked away from the infants. "I'm looking for you."

"You found me; at the NICU. Maybe it'll remind you of what you did."

"Tara," Wendy sighed. "I think it's time we had a real conversation, no more passive aggressive comments or battles. I think we can come to an agreement if we put our feelings aside."

"Our feelings?" She asked, taken aback by the absolute insanity of what Wendy was saying. "How is that even possible? You almost killed Abel. You signed away your rights without much of a fight and disappeared. You don't get to meet him or know him. You lost that _privilege_ when you pumped that shit into your veins."

Putting a few feet between them, Wendy held her open hands out. "Tara, I'm not looking for a problem. I'm looking to meet my son."

"Abel is NOT your son."

Seeing how the request affected Tara, Wendy didn't harp on the point of intense contention between the two of them. "Abel deserves to know. I have a lawyer, a good one and I won't hesitate to use him."

No matter what Tara came back with she could never be sure a judge would see it her way. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. "The junkie and the doctor, I think I know who has the best chances."

"You should know judges love a good comeback story. I wanted to talk to you out of respect. I appreciate what you've done for Abel."

"What I've done?" Tara nodded, her eyes wide as she stared at Wendy._ Is this real life?_ She couldn't stop asking herself that question as she listened to Wendy's words. "Stay away from my family."

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><p>Most of the guys had gathered at the clubhouse and left together to meet up with the Irish. Halfway there, Opie, Chibs and Jax met up with the rest of them. Jax was hoping Clay hadn't been completely honest with Galen. He needed all his brothers there, but when it came to the Irish, you could never have enough back up.<p>

"This could be dangerous," Opie grumbled as Clay and Galen shook hands. A few words passed between them but nothing above a whisper.

"You think Galen would out us?" Jax asked with a doubtful look on his face. Opie's eyes were on his phone though as he typed a quick text to Mae after declining her call. Now was not the time for a phone conversation. "Clay wouldn't tell him and if he did, he'd be outing himself to Tig with this whole show. There's no way."

"Fucking hope so," Opie said as they slowly walked toward Galen.

When Jax extended his hand to Galen, his expression telling the truth of how he felt about being summoned, the older man refused to accept. The magnitude of disrespect wasn't lost on anyone in attendance. Chibs sneered from the circle of Sons watching. Tig laughed quietly to himself, unfazed by the statement.

"You got a problem, say it."

Galen's eyes flicked toward Clay for a brief second before chuckling. "Calm down," he chided. "That's always been your problem, _boy_. Mind your temper and you may be able to keep your little motorbike club afloat. Clay earned his role, fought for it. The Prince doesn't know what he's in for."

"You fucking Irish prick," he snarled. "You don't know shit about me or my club."

"I know you're immature and explosive, incapable of leading. Respect is earned."

Jax's upper lip twitched as Galen spoke. He was already on edge after Galindo, but this sent him far off it. Winding up, Jax's fist collided with Galen's eye socket; a bruise instantly darkened the skin. Despite being older than most of them, he was solid and hardly stumbled a foot back before charging toward his attacker. Galen too landed a blow before his young IRA guards and Opie jumped between them.

"I'm good." Jax snarled, spitting blood at Galen's feet. "You got more than one good punch in ya, old man?"

Galen pulled off his jacket and loosened his tie. "I'll teach you a thing or two, lad."

Stepping back to their respective groups, the men prepared for the fight. Jax tossed his cut at Juice while Opie took his rings for safekeeping. Chibs gripped his shoulders, his eyes staring hard into Jax's and before pushing him out toward Galen, growled. "Kick his ass, Jackie boy." Usually a good old-fashioned brawl was enjoyable for the club but pride, among other things, were on the line. They danced around each other while insults and support were hurled around the field, Jax stepped quickly and landed two swift yet powerful jabs; one to Galen's jaw and the other to his ribs. He smirked as the man stumbled back, a few drops of blood trickling down his chin.

"That all you got?" Jax snapped he faked left, his right fist colliding with Galen's stomach sending him into a fit of gasps. "That's an Irish King for you, boys." Jax cheered as he turned to face the club. Clay glared from the sidelines, standing in neither camp.

"Pride," Galen laughed as he finally landed another blow directly to Jax's side. "It'll be your downfall. You're not as smart as you think you are."

That's when the real fight began; any semblance of respect and all efforts for a fair fight flew out the window as they both threw blind, angry punches. The crowd around them cheered as more blood spattered down their chests to the ground. Finally, after both men were battered and panting, Happy followed Bobby's order and jumped between them to hold Jax back.

"It's done," Clay said with a tinge of melancholy. "You two get it out?"

"I'm good," Jax grinned as he wiped the blood from his face.

"Myself as well," patting his face with a handkerchief, Galen agreed. There was still palpable tension and the animosity between them was suffocating as they shook hands. "I won't work with anyone but Clay. To me, that patch means nothing."

"Yeah, it means nothing to you but what about the others? It's hard to laugh at our democracy when you have one of your own to deal with. Somehow I don't think your Irish brothers will be so quick to dismiss a unanimous vote and voluntary change of leadership."

"Galen," Clay put his hand between them. "It was time Jax stepped up; I'll still be around. You want to deal with me as a liaison? I'm good with that, as long as Jax is."

"I'll only go through Clay," he said with a smile.

Jax snarled as he looked at Clay. There was no way he didn't have his arthritic, swollen hands in this. The few seconds it took Jax to decide what he was going to do felt much longer. Peace was important. Their fight meant little but he had to agree if there was ever any chance of an Irish Galindo hookup.

"I can work with Clay as the middle man," he said unfazed. "I'm still running this show."

"You prove yourself a worthy leader, like your predecessor, and we won't have a problem.

* * *

><p>With bubbling excitement, Mae followed the nurse's assistant toward the doctor's office. Opie would be so surprised; she couldn't wait to see the look on his face. Before leaving, the woman offered Mae a seat on the other side of the large mahogany desk that sat in the center of the room.<br>"How are you feeling, Mrs. Winston?"

The doctor was older, his face was weathered but kind. He immediately put Mae at ease during their first meeting. This time around, she wanted the absolute best doctor possible. Tara was not an option as she was not an obstetrician, but Mae was confident she had found the right one.

"Tired," she smiled, "But good."

"I received your results and the blood test confirms you are indeed pregnant, congratulations." While he was happy for his patient it was news he delivered often, but the joy on the women's face was always a delight. "There were a few numbers that concerned me. I'd like to do some more bloodwork; different tests so I can have a better idea of what we're looking at."

All her excitement drained and her world suddenly began crashing down with that vague suggestion. "What numbers? What do you think it could be?"

"You were rather open during your last appointment about your past which is helpful. I'm looking to check your liver function. Your platelets are low which could be any number of things. You are conscious of your health, but given your past intravenous drug use, I immediately though it could be your liver."

Mae was horrified. She felt cold beads of sweat forming on her brow. "No," she suddenly grew defensive. "I always used clean needles. I mean the majority of the time I just smoked it. I held a job; I wasn't some filthy junkie on the corner." Her emotion laced rant pulled at the doctor's heart, he could see she was devastated.

"Mrs. Winston," he said softly. "Please calm down. I'm not judging you; mistakes are a part of life. You've owned yours and cleaned up, but the fact remains that drug use haunts recovering addicts more than just mentally. Clean needles are wonderful, that protected you from HIV and hepatitis, but the heroin still had to be filtered through your liver. Something that strong takes its toll. All of this could be exacerbated by a family history of liver disease, but we don't know how genetics play into your situation."

"My baby?" She asked quietly. If anything happened, Mae would never forgive herself and she was sure Opie would blame her completely. "What does this mean for the pregnancy?"

Dr. Morrison was clearly trying to be careful and honest but keep her from spiraling into a frenzy. "I'm not an optimist and I can't be sure it's even your liver until I run some more labs. That being said, depending on the severity you could possibly go on to have a healthy pregnancy. You're high risk so I want to monitor you closely, but for now you just need to take care of yourself and stay calm. Nothing is worse than stress and hysterics. I'll write you a prescription for prenatal vitamins. One of the girls will draw your blood and I'll see you in a few days for the results. We can plan further when I know more."

"Okay," Mae nodded, dazed and drowning in questions and uncertainty.

"I suggest you bring your husband next time, pregnancy alone is a lot and you'll need the support."

"No, I don't want to worry him until we know everything and have a plan. He's got a very stressful job. I can handle it."

The doctor didn't say anything; he simply saw her to the door and sent her back to have more blood drawn. She knew nothing for sure. There was a chance; however small, that the test was wrong and she was perfectly fine, but Mae was resigned to believe she was dying. If it wasn't for that tiny life growing inside her, Mae knew she would have went right out to score. Why not? In her mind she'd done all the damage she could. That was her greatest flaw when faced with something so infinite, Mae struggled to keep herself together and willing to fight.

* * *

><p>The rage Tara felt as she drove home, both boys buckled safely in car seats, was frightening. Her hands shook whenever she took them off the wheel and her heart felt as if it were about to explode. Something had to happen with Wendy. She couldn't trust the courts would rule in her favor; it wasn't a risk she was willing to take. Jax was already home, his bike in the drive, when she pulled up. Seeing Thomas was sleeping Tara went to Abel's side first, clutching him tight, before sliding him onto her hip and carrying her youngest into the house. At the start of her day Tara as hardly looking forward to the party, but now she was dreading it.<p>

"Jax," she called out. Setting Thomas down in his carrier on the floor, she set Abel up with some toys. "Jax," she tried again. He was in the shower; a moment of silence allowed her to hear the streaming water. With the stealth only a mother could possess, she managed to gently remove Thomas from his infant seat and transfer him into his crib without as much as a peep from him. Ready to rant Tara stood in the bathroom with her hand on her hip only to lose all she'd prepared to say when she saw Jax's face.

"I'm okay," he said wrapping the towel around his waist. "I was just releasing some Irish tension." Examining her face, he could clearly see how distressed she was. "How are you?" His thumb traced along her lower lip. "What happened?"

With an irritated groan, she stepped away and balanced on the edge of the sink. "Wendy."

"Jesus Christ, what does she want?" His hands ran through his wet hair as his expression matched that of Tara.

"She wants our son, Jackson," Trembling with fear as she said it, Tara felt helpless. The knowledge that she was not Abel's biological mother never left her, but she perfected pushing the insecurities it brought away. Never once did she think Wendy could gather the courage to try for contact with Abel. "He's my boy," she sputtered and began to cry.

Jax hadn't realized how tight he clenched his jaw until his teeth began to ache. As he wrapped his arms around Tara, he tried to relax knowing how attuned to his feelings she was. He felt his tension would only increase hers. "Abel is your son; you're his mother." As he spoke, his jaw knocked lightly into her shoulder and the vibration of his gravelly voice ran down her spine. "You don't have to worry about Wendy; she's not coming near our family."

She wasn't inclined to believe him, not because she didn't want to or thought Jax was incapable, but Wendy wasn't another club dealing in Charming or causing problems on runs. She was a civilian; the biological mother of his child who had most likely already been in contact with a lawyer. It was obvious that Wendy would be much more difficult to deal with. Nodding, despite her doubts, Tara stepped back. Her shirt had wet spots from Jax's fresh shower. "Can you put a prospect here tonight with Neeta?"

"Of course, I'll have Rat stay the night. I know you don't want to go, thank you."

"I'm the new _Queen_," she said with heavy sarcasm. "I wouldn't miss your party, Prez." This time she meant the words, smiling with sincerity as she kissed his lips softly.

* * *

><p>When Mae walked into the office, Amelia already had her finger up to silence her. Pulling a face, she nodded and stared out the open door. The conversation sounded like it was with Amelia's mom but Mae was barely paying much attention. Her mind was on much more important issues.<p>

"Mom, I'm not bringing him." Amelia wasn't even sure she wanted to see her own mother; she surely didn't want to subject Juice to such a weekend. That woman had no shame. She'd most likely pinch at him and make painfully awkward comments. It wasn't that she would flirt, but she'd tease incessantly. Staunchly she repeated herself and said a quick goodbye.

"Sometimes I think I may be lucky to not have parents," she joked to lighten both of their moods. "I called Ope; said he was busy so I just came by."

Amelia nodded and pushed her textbook away. "Yeah, they had a meeting with the Irish. You okay? You're not usually one to just hang around here."

"Yeah, I just didn't want to go home to an empty house. The kids are with Mary for a few days and the silence makes my skin crawl." Mae needed something to take her mind off the news she had just received but the paranoia was worse. Although it was all in her head, she was afraid someone would think she was off and somehow figure it all out. "I'll just go home and maybe nap before tonight."

"Ohh, okay," Amelia said with a questioning look. In Mae's efforts to act normal, she only seemed stranger. "I'll see you at the party then."

Mae left without a word.


	7. Chapter 7

Mae had a plan. In her head, clouded with fear, it seemed like a good idea. She'd tell Opie about their baby and wait until there were more answers than questions concerning her liver. All it would do is send him into a paranoid, petrified state of mind. Waiting for a diagnosis and treatment plan would rattle his nerves, and that was putting it lightly. She wasn't gaining anything by holding it back; really, she wanted to tell him so he could roll her up and hold her. She wanted to hear him promise that she'd be okay and they'd get through whatever it was without a problem, but he had far too much on his mind. To Mae, it was selfish to tell him just so he could comfort her.

"It's a party," she told herself as she pulled her slinky lavender dress on and slipped her arms through the straps. If she was going to blow up in a few months, she'd flaunt the figure she worked so hard for while she could. "Try to cheer up you miserable bitch. Opie's VP, the guys are home and you're having a baby." She repeated those three sentences to herself over and over, her mantra for the evening to keep a smile on her face.

"Damn." Opie bumbled into the bedroom, covered in dust and looking exhausted. "Why are you all dressed up?" He was used to seeing her in jeans, boots and a racy top for parties but Mae saved the dresses for special occasions and Opie didn't think this was all that special.

They made eye contact in the mirror's reflection as she continued to doll herself up. "My husband is VP, this party is partially in your honor, and I have to look good." She turned to face him as he stripped down for a shower. "Rough day?"

Pulling a face, he nodded and began working at his belt. "You could say that; I'm getting shitty tonight. You look good," he said offhandedly. "Give me five minutes."

As he showered, she finished getting ready and shouted for the kids to double check they had everything for the long weekend at their grandmother's. "Oh shit," he came back into the bedroom still dripping wet. "You called earlier, what was that about?"

"Goddamn it," she completely forgot. Opie listened intently as he toweled off some more and threw jeans and a random shirt on. "Otto managed to get a meeting with me today. He said there's some rumors floating around and black is suspicious. Jax needs to go and clear the air with the Niners."

Defeated, his hands fell to his sides. "We were supposed to see them today but shit came up. We set something up for tomorrow; I'll tell Jax though." As she turned back to the mirror, he came behind her. "Thank you, you're really," he brushed her hair back and with his hands on her shoulders smiled proudly, "Owning your place."

"We should talk," she said with a shy smile. "Face to face," Mae turned and pushed Opie back onto the bed. She stood between his knees and looked down at him, all her fear vanishing. "We're having a baby."

"What?" He began to laugh sure she was joking, but when her face didn't crack, he stilled and stared at her. "You're pregnant?"

"I am."

Opie gripped her waist and gazed up at her in disbelief. "You're shitting me, Mae."

Pursing her lips, she gave him a playful shove the mattress squeaking under his weight. "I'm not shitting you, Opie. I went to the doctor today. I wanted to be sure before I told you."

"Jesus Christ." Jumping to his feet, he lifted her in the air for a split second before quickly putting her back down, suddenly fearful the slightest jostle would have horrific consequences. Taking his spot on the bed again, Opie's eyes shined as he gazed at her. His hair fell in his face as he beamed, proud and excited, as their new reality sink in. "We're adding to our family."

"Yeah, we are. We're adding our baby."

"I love you, Mae." Pressing his lips to her stomach, he held her tight. "Nothing is going to screw this up. I'll put you in a goddamn bubble if I have to but no one is going to hurt you."

* * *

><p>"You're going to Tacoma? The day after tomorrow?"<p>

Sticking her tongue out, Amelia nodded and made a gag noise. "Yeah, my mom goes through these phases of like, being really needy. She called early, sniffling and acting all depressed so I told her I'd visit. It's only for a few days; a week tops. Piney said he'd cover the office. I took care of the payroll already so it's just TM stuff."

Juice looked away, rubbing away the scuff mark from his boots. "Alone? Is Kozik going?"

"No," she poked her head out of the bathroom with a goofy grin. "God, you are so jealous, or paranoid, I can't tell which yet." The way she flicked her nails as she spoke reminded him of Gemma and he didn't like it. Juice loved Gem, but not that much and not in the way he felt for Amelia; it was just weird.

"Just protective." He stomped over toward the bathroom and smiled as she stepped out; she really had been opening up. The usually loose fitting outfits she wore to parties were replaced by more tailored clothing and there was even a flash or two of skin. It made Juice feel good to see that she felt safe and comfortable; he was proud to have had a hand in it as well.

"Is it too much? Or too little?"

Juice took Amelia's hand and had her do a little spin for him. He shook his head once they stood face to face again and gave her a sunny smile. "I think you look great. I'm going to show you off tonight."

"Yeah, about that," she frowned. "Maybe we should kind of keep PDA to a minimum; not flaunt anything."

"Why?" He tensed and dropped her hand, unable to hide his frustration. "I thought this was good."

Putting some distance between them, she couldn't help but clam up at his sudden annoyance. "My dad, he hates this. I'm not hiding, but I don't want to rub it in his face."

"You're not hiding?" He questioned her, worried she was regretting their decision to move forward.

"No." She stomped her foot to punctuate how serious she was. "He knows about us, but I don't want to make a big show. He's a jerk. He's being an idiot about us, but that doesn't mean I want to make it any harder on any of us; Tig included."

_This is some bullshit_, Juice thought as he slowly began to nod in agreement. "Eventually he's going to have to get over it, Meels. I'll treat you like a princess, but not him."

She laughed and thankfully it lightened the tension between them. "I know, I don't want to have to do it, but he'll be drinking. Who knows how he'll react if he sees something he doesn't like.

"All I know is I see something I like," he kissed her boldly. Juice loved being able to touch her and not have that nagging insecurity in the back of his mind about their relationship. He didn't want to go back to holding it all in. "Why don't I go to Tacoma with you?"

"You don't want to meet my mom." She said with a laugh. "Trust me, she's crazy and you know I hate that word, but she is totally crazy."

"I do; besides Tig'll probably want to send a prospect with you anyway just in case. I think we'd both rather it's me than some asshole kid looking to get his top rocker."

Amelia's lips curled into a crooked, goofy grin as she thought it over. "It could be like a little vacation."

"Exactly, we can get a nice hotel and hang out without everyone's eyes on us."

She was hesitant, her stomach churned as she thought it over. "Okay," Amelia was pushing herself. She had to step out of her comfort zone.

"Hopefully I can find something on short notice."

"Just no motel with hooker sheets or something, okay?"

"No hooker sheets, you got it."

* * *

><p>The party was in full swing from the moment it started. With the fire pit roaring outside, most attendees were huddled inside to keep away from the blaring music and crow eaters that flocked around the Sons. Opie had secretly taken a beer, dumped it and refilled it with water for Mae. After last time they weren't telling anyone until she was about to give birth. The party had been raging for hours and they doubted anyone would have really noticed, but Opie wanted to be sure no one suspected a thing.<p>

"Good?" He whispered as he pressed the bottle into her hand.

With a sly grin, she nodded, "Yeah, but it's late," that was their cue.

Opie nodded, promising they'd leave soon before strolling back outside. The air was clearer inside; which was why Mae decided to hang back when he left. Opie walked into a huge cloud of cigarette and marijuana smoke as he took his spot beside the new President. They were all in the middle of some story, exaggerated of course, while a few girls buzzed around them looking for an open lap.

"What are you doing faggot?" Tig snapped, a petite brunette on his lap, as Juice sat across from him. "Bitches are inside."

"Bitches, like your daughter?" No hesitation, Juice came back at him quickly. "And your President's and VP's old ladies, smart move asshole."

"Fuck you, Puerto Rican piece of shit. I don't want you near her again." He jumped to his feet, the woman tumbling down to the asphalt, ready for a brawl.

"Alright, Tiggy," Chibs was the first up, knowing this was alcohol fueled rage. "Let's calm down before you piss off another brother, aye?"

Jax and Opie were fuming. They didn't need Tig popping off and they weren't going to allow another comment like the last. "Why don't you take him to the apartment, darlin'?" Jax asked the girl, flashing his charming grin to be sure she'd go without hesitation.

"Keep him busy for a while," Opie added and gave the girl a shove. He and Jax had no time for Tig's dramatics or the crow eaters that reeked of desperation. "Something has to happen with that." He said to Juice, sympathetic but highly annoyed.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow." Juice said, ready to take responsibility and deal with the fallout of his romantic choices. It had to happen, sooner rather than later, to keep anything from escalating.

"Otto," Opie grumbled to Jax. "He set up a meeting with Mae, said black is antsy and suggested you go talk to them, clear up the rumors."

"Jesus," he groaned. "We meet first thing; we'll take care of it then."

Without warning, the sky opened up and dropped a heavy downpour on the already dying party. Instantly the rain squelched the bonfire and the women shrieked on their way into the clubhouse. The guys laughed, taking to their feet slowly in no real hurry to get inside.

"What the hell?" Tara asked, pulling a disgusted face at the parade of half-naked women entering their little space. "I wanted to go anyway."

"I've been ready to go since we got here," Mae whispered. The three of them laughed to themselves, but Amelia didn't agree. The party itself did not dampen her mood, but watching her overly inhibited father dragged back to the apartment did the trick.

"Just get me away from that drunk asshole." She groaned as Juice, dripping wet, walked over to the girls. "Let me guess, he was raving mad over us?" No one needed an answer, but Juice nodded anyway.

"You ready?" Jax asked as he came behind Tara, nuzzling his face in her neck.

She looked around to see the already supremely wasted guys and their picks for the evening taking residence up in the clubhouse and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Me too," Amelia looked at Juice and fluttered her eyelashes. "Let's go back to yours." Jax and Opie chuckled at Juice's suddenly flushed cheeks. "Shut up, assholes." She snapped, embarrassed, equally crimson from the attention and alcohol in her system. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Get down!"

Happy ran into the clubhouse faster than he had in his life and growled the order at the people still milling around the party. Before anyone could question him, bullets whirled passed them; the wood and plaster exploding as semiautomatic rounds sliced through the bar and walls. Bottles shattered, spraying the girls with liquor and shards of glass as they dropped to the ground, their men doing the opposite, much to their dismay. Juice, Jax and Opie scurried to chapel with the others. They armed up with weapons and ran out. Crouching down they made their way to the lot to lay down some fire of their own. Two beater trucks, two gunman in the bed of each, started backing out as the club members began firing. Any partygoers who remained took cover behind the tow truck and panel van, but most had already gone before the rain even fell. The music still blared, covering the sound of continuous gunfire as Chibs, Juice, Jax, Opie, Happy and Half-Sack reloaded clip after clip.

"Who the fuck was that?" Jax asked as the trucks cleared the fence and rolled back down the street at lightning speed.

"Don't know, but we hit a few." Chibs said as consolation for having no idea who had just attacked the lot so openly.

"We whole?" Juice asked as he caught his breath. "Shit," he looked at Opie terrified for Amelia and the others.

"The girls," Opie said with eyes wide as he looked back at the clubhouse. "Lock that gate." He shouted to the prospects who had already begun closing up the compound and turned to rush back into the building with the others in tow.

* * *

><p><strong>Uh oh! Cliffhanger! Thanks for the support guys! FollowFave/Review, please and thank you! xoxox**


	8. Chapter 8

"Mae," Opie shouted with panic in his voice. "Mae, baby." Dropping to his knees he supported her back as she sat up, blood spattered across her chest and neck. "No," he began to wipe and search for a wound.

"I'm okay," she said as she began to weep. It wasn't Mae's blood it was Tara's. As soon as he got to them, Jax saw red staining Tara's skin and clothing and dropped to her side in a panic.

"It's just a graze." She said, pressing her palm to the wound.

"Thank God." Despite her rigid demeanor toward him, Jax held her close. His touch provided comfort, but Tara was too much of an emotional mess to feel truly safe in his arms.

"Tara, I'm sorry," Jax pleaded as she glared at him. "Chibs, can you help fix her up?" He asked as the Scot interjected himself in their corner.

Amelia was frozen in panic, watching as Jax gripped Tara's shoulders protectively. She was bleeding heavily, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the amount of blood would suggest.

"Shite, aye, come on doc." Gingerly they helped her up and over to the pool table.

Juice stared at Amelia, but was sure to keep a few feet between them. He knew the look on her face; it meant to give her space. It was an expression she'd worn often way back when Keith was around. "Are you okay?" He whispered softly. She was fragile in the best of situations; Juice knew she was trying to process what was going on around her. "Everything's okay, Meels. I'm here, you're totally safe."

"Is everyone okay?" Kozik moved stealthily around the clubhouse. Relief washed over them all to know no one was seriously injured. A few had minor cuts and bruises, but most were simply terrified. His harsh tone, so stark in comparison to Juice's, shook her from her panic. She clung to Juice now, looking over his shoulder at Mae.

"You're alright." Clutching her close, her face pressed awkwardly against his cut, Jax looked around the room to see who was missing. "Tig's passed out; where's Clay?"

Mae looked up at Ope and felt herself panic as he shook his head. "No idea, haven't seen him in hours."

"Go," Tara looked behind him at Opie and Bobby conspiring. "Let Chibs deal with this." Opening his mouth to speak proved the worst move, Tara pursed her lips and growled, "Don't."

"You think that woke the hood?" Happy asked as he joined Jax, Juice and Opie, the two girls ghosting behind them.

"Doubt it," Jax said as he watched Chibs tend to Tara. "Music was loud, besides it sounded like they used suppressors."

"Who?" Bobby asked calmly. "We've got no beefs, none this big."

"Cartel?" Juice asked the obvious question. "We go all in then we get shot up."

Opie's stormy eyes darted to Juice; it would shake the club's faith for sure and they needed that. "We don't know shit right now. I think our first move is getting the girls and the kids out of Charming."

"I think that's smart," Jax said with a confident nod. This was not how he wanted to start his presidency. "After this, I don't trust a lockdown. Let's send the girls up to the cabin with the kids and Sack. I need you with me on this Ope. Piney's already there, right?"

He nodded reticently. "Kenny and Ellie are with Mary, but Mae'll go." The last thing Opie felt comfortable doing was being so far from Mae. He could feel her glaring at him. She felt the same about such distance that was her problem rather than the way he spoke as if she was his charge. They had no choice everyone knew that.

"Meels is going to Tacoma," Juice said as he turned back to flash her a supportive smile. "She wants to visit her mom. I was going to head up with her."

"You good goin'?" Jax asked, lighting a cigarette and burning half in one drag. "I don't want to lose you right now but," he glanced back at Amelia and frowned, "She's already a mess. You're the only one she'll be okay with."

Shining with pride, Juice nodded and offered her his hand. She moved to stand beside him, under his arm, as he stroked her hair. "I don't want anyone else with her; I want to go."

"Get her out of here now," Chibs gave Amelia's arm a squeeze. "Juicy'll keep you safe, dear."

"Keep an eye on my dad," she asked as she hugged Jax. "Don't let anyone get hurt." He nodded and Amelia stared at him hard for a minute before heading out with Juice's hand on her lower back.

"Go," Opie said to Mae. "Take Sack, pack a bag and head up to the cabin.

"What are you going to do?" Mae asked quietly as he walked her toward the front door. "Are you coming up?"

Looking back at Jax, Bobby, Chibs and Happy, he sighed heavily. "I'll try to head up tomorrow, but I gotta be here for this now."

"But Juice is going with Meels." Pouting, she tried to convince him but she knew he couldn't no matter how much he wanted to. She felt and sounded needy, but she was, and she was tired of hiding it.

"I'm Vice President, Mae, me and Jax have to fix this."

Sullen, she nodded and threw her arms around his neck. "Be careful, please."

"Always am," Opie pulled her arms from his neck and bent down to kiss her, his hands gripping her back tight. "I'll call and try to come by later, but I can't promise."

Tara watched the couple said their goodbyes as she hissed her way through Chibs patch up. It didn't take long, stitches weren't even necessary, but he cleaned and bandaged her properly. "I can't go," she looked at Jax. "I have surgery in the morning; I can't just leave my job."

"This is dangerous," he said in a harsh whisper as Chibs left them to talk. "I can't have my mind on your safety while I clean this up, Tara."

Her chin protruded out as she saw the seriousness in his eyes. "What, do you think they'll shoot up the hospital?" She asked honestly, as his fear permeated the space between them. "Fine, send one of the guys to stay at St. Thomas with me; I'll head up the day after tomorrow. Okay?"

"I can live with that," he snapped his fingers at Phil and pointed to Tara. "Go with her; don't leave her side. Rat's at the house, have him go with you tomorrow. I want both of you watching her."

Phil nodded enthusiastically at the chance to prove himself; Tara rolled her eyes as he moved quickly to her car. "Eager," she said as she kissed Jax with lips just as cold as her attitude. "Be careful."

"Alright," he finally turned away when he saw her car door slam shut. "We gotta talk this shit out."

* * *

><p>Jogging into chapel after sending a prospect with Amelia to pack some bags, Juice saw that someone had managed to rouse Tig. He took his usual spot between Bobby and Happy, nodding at Jax to continue. He could feel Tig's eyes on him.<p>

"Hap, what'd you see?" Jax asked, a mask of serious composure covering his panic.

"Nothing," he admitted with anger. "They rolled in real slow, didn't think nothing of it at a party. When I saw one pull, I came in here for you guys and the gun safe." His toothpick rolled between his lips as he spoke calmly, as if a drive by shooting was nothing out of the ordinary.

"White?" Jax asked without even the slightest inkling of who it could have been.

"Masks and shit, I couldn't see."

Jax growled low; the others stewing in their anger and worry. They had been so blind. "We got no problems," he spat. "Irish are pissed, but they'd let us know it was them. Micks are too proud to hide. We're solid with Brown and Darby doesn't have that kind of firepower or ambition."

"Black?" Chibs suggested. Out of the crews they had business with, they were the only ones not mentioned. That suggestion left Opie wondering about his deal with Pope concerning Mae's safety. Now that they suspected everyone, including the Niners, nothing was certain.

Opie grunted and looked at Jax. "Big step, but they are the only ones we haven't talked to."

"You haven't talked to the Niners?" Bobby asked, slightly annoyed.

Sitting forward, Opie shook his head trying to think logically and the Niners hitting the club wasn't logical. "We're good with LaRoy; the meeting was a formality."

"If I did or didn't," punctuating every word Jax looked at each of the gathered members. "You think they have a reason to shoot us up? A rescheduled meeting doesn't end with bullets. Right now, it doesn't matter why," he looked at Bobby, "It matters who."

"Then who?" Clay asked as he appeared in the doorway.

"Maybe I should ask you." Jax's words drew suspicious looks from the table. "Where were you?"

"I had business with an old friend." He said casually. When Jax didn't relent, Clay was quick to give up whom he had been spending time with that evening. "I was with your mom," he admitted as he took a seat in the back. Opie and Jax exchanged a look but no one said anything. "No one was hurt?"

"Tara got grazed, other than that everyone's fine." Jax wouldn't have believed anything out of Clay's mouth, but that couldn't be a lie. Still, he'd ask his mother, but Jax doubted she'd lie to him especially after hearing what had happened there.

"Where are we with it?" Clay still had to get used to not running the table that was clear by the authoritative tone he used. "Just so I'm up to speed," he explained as Jax stared him down.

"We got nothing," Tig grumbled, barely even paying attention.

"Then we get something." Kozik said quickly. "Women and kids are gone, no distractions, so we hit the streets."

"Me and Ope can deal with the Niners." Jax said and pointed to Chibs. "You and Clay meet up with Galen again."

"Mayan's are good, Galindo too?" Bobby said with his palms flat on the table, his eyes moved between the four men who had met with Romeo earlier that day. It had hardly been a day since voting the coke in and already Bobby was sure it was causing problems.

Jax nodded as Juice finally opened his mouth. "After Jax told him we passed the vote, dude couldn't have been happier. I'm gonna pull the video before I go and run the plates, but I'll bet my left nut they're stolen."

"No offense to your nuts but I hope you're wrong." Jax cracked half a smile. "This doesn't go unanswered. Whoever did this is going to pay. Hit us on the street, our warehouse, fine that's business, but you don't come into our home and shoot at our families."

That short, impassioned speech fanned the flames burning in each of their chests. They spoke for a short while longer before Jax dismissed them. Everyone was on task, but before Juice could start on his, he had to speak to Tig. Bobby had been the one to tell him what had happened, every detail about the shooting, and his assurance that Amelia was okay were repeated to ensure Tig's hazed brain absorbed the information completely.

"Hey," Juice bounced beside Tig as he lumbered out of chapel. "I'm getting Meels out of town. Whatever this is won't touch her. I know you don't like this but for her sake, just leave it alone. She doesn't want to upset you."

While he was still drunk and raging over the attack, it wasn't the best time for Juice to try to smooth things over. "It's not Meels that's upsetting me, it's you." He barked angrily. "You let anything happen to her, a goddamn paper cut, and I'll skin you alive. Got me?" Tig winked, an unsettling smile spreading across his lips.

Unfazed, Juice nodded. "Broken goddamn record and that's part of the problem."

Tig ignored the parting comment and dropped down at the bar. The sky was just turning pink as the sun rose and normally they'd all be heading to bed, but the guys all had work to do. It was more than meetings with Galen and the Niners, Juice had his part and the others kept their ears to the ground with heightened vigilance.

* * *

><p>Before Amelia could make her way back Juice pulled the plates and immediately ran a search as he and Jax obsessively looked over the security footage. "We got nothing, man." He said sadly as his laptop pinged with less than exciting results from the simple DMV run. "Plates were stolen from a minivan in Baja, California."<p>

"Goddamn it," Jax roared. "You know what that means, Juicy?"

"No," he said as he clicked to a map of California, "But I think it's got something to do with this." Tapping the screen Juice pointed out how dangerously close Baja was to Sonora. "Jax, we just voted this cartel deal in and we're already getting hit?"

Jax nodded, his cheeks sucked in as he thought hard over the situation. "Romeo said before that Lobos didn't have any connections up here."

"Well," he glanced past Jax to see Amelia and V-Lin strolling back into the clubhouse. "It looks like they made some friends."

"Go," he gave Juice a heavy slap on the shoulder. "I'll let you know what we figure out."

"I'm with you on this, Prez." Juice said as they hugged roughly. "Just tell me what you want me to do."

"I want you to keep this between us for now." Jax gave Juice a tight smile and sent him off before taking his seat again at the head of the table. He would share the information Juice gave him, but he wanted to sit on it first; roll it around to try to make sense of what was going on. It was a bold first move and Jax felt helpless; that was when he was at his most dangerous.

"So?" Opie stepped in and shut the door behind him. "What are you thinking?"

"Brother, I have no idea." He admitted. "Bobby said other charters are fine, warehouses are untouched. Juice says the plates are from Baja."

"Jesus, so we got a damn Mexican problem?"

"That's what it's leaning toward. That's way too far south to be our shit. We need to set up Galindo and the Irish and back away."

"Or we vote out the coke." Opie said quickly. "Guys find out this was cartel shit, they'll jump ship real fast. This was dirty to begin with and we knew that. Shit, even not telling them about Clay feels wrong. I get it. I get why we we're not telling them, but this shit is getting nasty."

Jax drew his head back, surprised by Opie's sudden lecture. He was right, but that held less weight than it should have with the new President. "Then what? Cara Cara can't support the club and us, we need to make money before we dump the drugs and the guns. I know," he raised his hands as Opie glared at him hatefully. "It's dangerous, but all I'm saying is we find out who and why, then we make our call. Bro, there's a chance this isn't cartel. We're not lying to anyone, this coke was voted in, straight, and you know that."

"Yeah, alright." Opie stood solemnly, unconvinced, and nodded toward the door. "Let's get on the hunt, brother."


	9. Chapter 9

**Wow. So sad. Cannot believe it's over! Light chapter for the day after such a momentous occasion! Xoxo**

* * *

><p>"Are you ready for our trip?" Juice asked as he hopped in the driver seat of Amelia's truck. She was scared, he could see it all over her face and by the rigid way she sat. With a slight nod, she clicked on her seatbelt and waited for him to pull out of the lot.<p>

"My dad?" She asked a good hour into their ride. Switching off the radio Juice took a quick peek at her. "Did he flip out about the trip?"

"Nah," Juice couldn't worry her further. "Just told me to keep you safe, but I didn't need him to tell me that."

She finally cracked a smile. "I guess we'll be crashing at my mom's till we find a hotel? Or some crappy hourly motel? I don't want to stay with her, at all, so we have to find something."

"I promised no hooker sheets; I don't break my promises." There was no little chuckle or flash of a smile. Juice was obsessed with soothing her. All the Sons had a savior complex; it was a flaw at the worst of times, but one of their more noble traits. Reaching behind him he smacked at his duffle bag. "Outside zipper pouch, I brought some provisions."

With intrigue she turned and reached back to pull out a zip lock baggie half full of marijuana. "You'll turn me into a stoner."

"Actually," with one hand on the wheel he stretched back and pulled out a pre-rolled joint. He swerved for a second as he searched for something else but stopped, tossed it in her lap, and grasped the wheel again with both hands. Juice turned serious, he knew exactly what he was talking about. "It helps with anxiety, trust me. You won't be a stoner, but a toke here and there, especially right now. It will help."

"Can we talk about what happened?" She settled back in her seat, the joint in her palm.

Without taking his eyes off the road he nodded. "You can smoke that, it's highway driving for a while so no one's going to catch you. Besides," he flicked the visor down and a small card flittered to his lap. "Just in case," he said as he handed it to her.

"A medical marijuana card?" Amelia laughed It was the strangest thing, but somehow overtly romantic. "Thanks."

He shrugged. Juice just wanted to help her relax and certain strains did wonders for his own anxiety. "Last night," he started slowly. "That shit was crazy, but it won't happen, not again."

"Do you think something like that'll happen again or maybe something even worse?" Tig's fears grew in her mind as she lit the joint, keeping it out of view.

Juice thought she wanted to talk about the actual shooting; not how she was feeling. He didn't want to tell her, saddling her with club business wasn't the right thing to do, especially when she was still working through so much. "I don't know how bad it'll get, but I promise you it will get better. Until then all I gotta do is keep you safe."

"And yourself," she took a drag. Amelia studied the side of Juice's face as he coasted down the highway. He didn't understand her and she didn't understand him, but they accepted each other. Every day he made the choice to accept her for who she was. It was the choice and his wanting that made all the difference.

"And myself," he nodded. "Ten and a half hours," he lamented. "I miss my bike."

"Oh stop, we'll have fun." Seeing he was less sure than she was, Amelia shifted her body toward him. "Let's play a game," she was still anxious, even scared, but this would help. "Twenty questions? We already covered everything we could about ourselves so let's starts some guessing."

"I'll start asking," he grinned and slammed down harder on the gas.

* * *

><p>"I hate this," Jax mumbled as he and Opie arrived at the meeting with LaRoy. "We should be talking to Romeo right now, not dealing with this bullshit."<p>

Opie felt the same, but there was no use chasing Romeo when they couldn't even reach him. "It's early as shit; this is a good use of time until we contact Galindo. We can't drop our other business. We need to handle this."

"I wasn't sure you were going to come." LaRoy said as he stepped forward and shook both Jax's and Opie's hands. "I know release is a popular time, but we have business to take care of."

Swallowing his pride and a few snarky remarks, Jax nodded. "I heard there's talk; some of your crew are questioning SAMCRO."

"And where did you hear that?" He asked, making no attempt to hide his amusement. "I'm surprised you can hear anything after that shoot up last night." Seeing Jax and Opie react was all the confirmation he needed. They barely flinched, but it was their stone faces that gave them away. They weren't planning to spread that story around, it only made them look weak, but somehow word got out. That made it seem less tied to the cartel and much more local.

"We're looking into that," Jax said quickly. "This meeting isn't about last night. It's about your crew."

"And what about my crew?"

"The shit that's going around Stockton, it's gotta stop bro. We're solid, we didn't make any deals and this change," he tapped his new flash. "This only benefits you."

"You understand how it looks," LaRoy said as he extended his arms out to gesture to his guys.

"I do." Jax nodded.

"We've been working together for a while, bro." Opie stepped in. "You see anyone get picked up since our shit in Sacramento? Every hood is quiet; it's business as usual."

"And what about this cartel deal I keep getting whiffs of? That little scuffle IN Charming, your hood. What's that about?"

Jax's shoulders fell, visibly and mentally leveling with LaRoy. "Look, that shit last night is getting handled. It won't affect you."

"You understand my concerns? I need to see you handle your shit, tighten your hold and own this. It's the only difference I care about, Prez or not."

Already he was being judged as a leader for things that couldn't yet fall on him. Jax was fuming, his nostrils flared as he glared at LaRoy, his eyebrows narrowing. "I get it, but you don't have to worry. I'll deal with it. Give me some time to wrap up the fallout of some shitty calls; you at least have to give me that."

"I don't have to give you shit, white boy, but I'm feeling charitable."

Jax huffed knowing that was a bluff and that LaRoy trusted SAMCRO and enjoyed their business dealings over the years. They shook hands and chatted for a few moments; Niners promising to listen for any rumblings on the street about the shooting. Opie confirmed his deal with Pope still stood. They were happy to part ways feeling the meeting was a success.

"We need to take care of this," Opie warned as they both clicked their helmets on simultaneously. "I can't blame them for getting skittish man, we would too."

"Yeah, I know." Jax knew that for sure and although he wanted out, they needed time and they didn't want to end their dealings with other crews in such a way. "We'll figure it out."

* * *

><p>"Pop?" Mae bolted out of the car and into the cabin. She loved spending time up there and under the current circumstances the break was needed.<p>

Out from the back hall Piney lumbered with a smile on his face. He was slower than his son, but moved in the same manner. "Ope called me, I'm glad to have the company." The two embraced as he waved for Sack to put Mae's bag in the middle bedroom. "The kids are with Mary?"

"Yeah, it's better that they don't know anything happened."

"Damn right," he waited a moment for Kip to leave the room. "How's my boy?"

"He's okay, stressed, but you know that's not new."

With a heavy, fatherly hand on her shoulder, he pushed her to sit on the sunken in old couch. He took the cracked leather arm chain across from her. "We should talk."

"Okay. Is everything alright?"

Piney shook his head and reached down between the cushion and arm of the chair. "I wish you could have known JT. He was a much better president than Clay." Pressing his cannula against his face tighter, he took a long, deep breath. Piney didn't know Clay was under control, that Opie and Jax had him where they wanted him and he was just trying to look out for his family; the Winstons. "The drugs, the guns, it's not what he wanted for SAMCRO; it's not what _we_ wanted for our sons."

"I don't really think this is necessary," she started, unsure of how to let him down. Mae couldn't tell Piney what she knew, but she didn't want to dig herself into promising him anything. "I really believe Ope and Jax have everything handled."

"I'm not worried about those two," he growled. "I'm worried about Clay. I know that man and I know he's got something planned."

At a loss for words, Mae simple nodded and accepted the stack of yellowed, crinkled papers he offered. Before she could even get a look at the contents, the cabin door swung open; Chibs and Clay entering with heavy footfalls. Piney whipped back the papers, but Clay had already seen them and the way he and Mae sat together, leaning conspiratorially close.

"Look at you two," Chibs laughed, unaware of the intrigue between the other three. "What a cute couple."

"Is everything okay?" Mae asked, suddenly panic-stricken. Her attention wasn't on Clay's suspicious behavior but Opie's wellbeing, she didn't even notice the way he stared. "Is Ope alright?"

"He's fine," Clay assured her, his eyes never leaving Piney. "We're meeting him and Jax here before we head out to talk with Galindo."

"No bikes?" Piney was always suspicious, but in that moment he didn't hide it.

"Nah, maintaining a low profile and shite." Chibs plopped down beside Mae and lit a cigarette.

"I'm going to get some air," she said with a polite smile. "Wait for the guys outside." No sooner did she perch on a fallen tree trunk did the roar of two Harleys fill her with excitement. "Hey," she smiled joyfully and pounced on her husband.

"Jesus Christ," Jax groaned as Opie held Mae tight and kissed her. "You two make me fucking sick."

"Wait," she managed to holler. "Come here," she lowered her voice now. "You guys need to talk to Piney; he's paranoid about Clay. He started talking about JT and what he wanted for the club. It's time you told him what you're doing, it's not fair, he's concerned."

Opie groaned and let her back down to her feet. "Yeah, we'll deal with the old man."

"Come on," Clay shouted from inside the cabin. "We got shit to do."

Mae waved them to go on without her. She knew the cabin would be smoky. That was the last thing she needed around her, not only because of the baby, but because her possible health issues as well. She sat again, looking around at nothing as the men conducted their business.

"Galen had nothing to do with it."

Jax smiled, unconvinced, and nodded. "Yeah and how are you so sure?"

"I trust him; we've been doing business for years."

"Jackie," Chibs gave his young president a knowing look. "I believed him too, didn't want to, but I don't think he had any hand in it. We need to find who really did it, not finger the ones we wish did it." The Scot had never been so wise in his life and Jax took the knowledge to heart for once.

"Alright," he sighed. "Niners are twitchy; we need to find whoever did this before crews start thinking we can't handle our shit."

"We will," Clay said assuredly. We'll shake up the hood; remind every one of these pricks who we are."

Clay always had such pride, arrogance really, when it came to SAMCRO. They were a capable force, but they were tiny and in the grand scheme of things not very powerful. He chose not to see that. Jax showed them the stills Juice had printed, folded in his cut, while they sat for a smoke and some time to get their heads right.

"You need to rein it in brother," Opie said to Jax quietly. "Jumping on the Irish, challenging Clay, it's not making you look good."

Jax eyed Opie offended, but taking the words knowing Opie's intention. "I'll stop suspecting when Tara and my boys are safe."

"You're not the only one with a family." Ope said, louder this time, but quickly checked his volume. "I got Mae and my kids; Tig and Juice have Meels. This is about everyone not just whatever shit you can't let go with Clay. He fucked us over, both of us, the entire club but you need to shelve it. He's taken care of for now."

If she could have heard Opie, Mae would have been proud of him and she would have agreed wholeheartedly, but she was on the phone with Hale. When he called, concern in his voice she had no idea what could have happened, but she was worried nonetheless.

"What's going on, Dave?" She heard him shut his office door. "You should have done that before you called me."

"_Are you okay?"_ He asked his voice still hushed even with the locked door.

"Yeah," her face twisted as she tried to pry what he knew about the night before. "Why, you hearing rumors?"

"_Hearing rumors, no. The Mayan clubhouse was shot up last night. I know the club has some ties there."_

She was already heading back into the cabin quietly. "Wow that's crazy. I didn't hear about it, we're fine though. Do you know who did it?"

"_We don't know anything. I got a call from Oakland about it. Mayans aren't saying shit and we have no leads."_

Mae walked into the cabin and shushed them. She couldn't put him on speaker; he'd hear the difference in their call and know right away. "And I guess you're going to ask me for some lead? Dave," Opie visibly reacted at the name and it wasn't favorable. "The club doesn't have connections with the Mayans like that; it's more of a mutual love of Harley's that bridge the gap there. Is everyone okay though? A shooting," she looked at the guys, "That's scary shit."

That cemented their suspicions. If both SAMCRO and the Mayans were attacked, it had to be cartel related if not the Irish. They listened closely as she ended the call, very little information was shared, but it was enough.

"This is the cartel." Piney said gruff and accusatory.

"Pop, we all voted this shit." Opie barked, a personal battle was not what they needed or wanted. "He called you?"

"Yeah, asking if I was okay and then told me about Oakland. He just said their clubhouse got shot up. They obviously have no leads, but you got lucky; at least you don't have badges sniffing around."

"Come on," Jax instructed the guys. "Let's head up a little early."


	10. Chapter 10

**This is a big, important chapter! I really hope you enjoy it! Thanks! Xoxo**

* * *

><p>They were early, very early just like Jax wanted, but Romeo and Alvarez were already there. This was a friendly meeting, but the tension was high and the air was thick with it. Jax and the others charged forward from their bikes to where the men were standing together. Jax extended his hand and all six men exchanged handshakes.<p>

"I guess we don't have to tell you why we're here."Jax said with a sneer.

"I heard about yours," he looked at the three men behind Jax. "You're whole?"

"We are. You guys?"

Alvarez nodded and the two dropped whatever hostility they felt after having connected over the attack. They looked at Romeo now; their question did not need to be asked aloud.

"You said Lobos had no connections over the border and don't tell me it wasn't them. Our families were at that party; my old lady got hurt. We're supposed to be protected; we didn't sign on for this shit."

"I'm sorry," he said with sincerity. "Whoever set them up knows more than they should. We may have an internal threat."

"Bullshit!" Jax snapped, taking one threatening step before correcting himself. "You're really trying to lay this shit at our feet?" His hand stretched out between himself and Alvarez.

Unfazed, Romeo shook his head. "You're too defensive." He chided. "They're working with someone; they pulled together this job quickly so they had help. How else would we not know?" Romeo asked, his hand extending behind him to Torres and his crew. "I didn't say it was a Son or a Mayan but it's an inside job. Government, family, even one of mine, they don't have connections so they made some. We crossed over firs; they aren't happy about losing this potential pipeline so they came to convert the money hungry Americans."

"Alright, ese," Alvarez spoke with a warning tone. "If we do have a rat, how do you suggest we flush them out?"

"I can handle that," Romeo said with a smug grin, already knowing who had tipped off Lobos about Galindo's partners. "I'll get a name and we can go from there. This ends."

"Goddamn right it does," Opie barked from behind them.

"This won't look good for your other request." Jax said with a peek over his shoulder at Chibs. "Why don't you tell our brown brother how anxious those Kings are?"

Chibs laughed, Clay joining in with him. "Aye, old Irish pussies. They handle their own shite but if you can't handle yours, they won't deal."

"Why don't we keep this between us then," Romeo said. He needed that meeting. He needed the Irish and the trust of everyone involved. "Things like this happen in our line of work, but it's all about how you clean it up."

"Yeah, so you say." Clay grunted from the back.

"You take care of this," Jax said, his tone lacked any respect. He was scrambling to protect Tara and his boys.

Torres stepped into the discussion now. "We may need some backup."

"Now we're soldiers in a cartel war, great." The only man who found any of this remotely amusing was Clay. Seeing Jax so putout, his little plan going so awry, made him practically giddy.

"I'll know more when we have numbers. I'm not heading in with less than, that's how people die."

With no choice, Jax nodded. "Let us know if you need bodies. I'll see if we can spare anyone."

"Revenge is a good motivator." Romeo said, his eyes burning holes in Jax. "We'll be in touch."

* * *

><p>"Tacoma." Juice said as he climbed out of her truck, unimpressed with their surroundings. "This. Is. Tacoma."<p>

Amelia cracked her back and stretched as he pulled their bags from the trunk. The hotel looked nice, nicer than she expected, especially on such short notice, but he didn't look concerned. The area was low key, Juice was disappointed, but Amelia liked that. She wasn't expecting anything wild and it was much nicer than the Tahoe neighborhood her mom left not that long ago.

"We'll have fun," she gave him a playful shove as he walked beside her toward the lobby. "Juice," she whispered as they entered, feeling slightly out of place in her sweats and sneakers. "They are not going to have a room and even if they do it's probably expensive."

It was expensive, but Amelia failed to realize all the money Juice made he squirreled away. He didn't have lavish habits or any dependents. He was responsible and saved his money for the day he'd have someone important enough to spend it on and family to care for. Of course, his stake in the dispensary also gave him increased disposable income. "It's fine, Princess." He winked as he dropped the bags and leaned on the counter. "Checking in under Ortiz."

"Juan Carlos?" The receptionist asked quietly and Amelia laughed at the name. To her he was either JC or Juice; she almost forgot his real name.

"Yep, that's the one." He elbowed Amelia, but it only made her laugh harder. "Sorry, she's not quite right."

"Stop," she composed herself in record time. "I am totally right," she whispered in his ear. "How did you manage this?" He hushed her as the woman handed them their key cards and the bellboy took their bags.

"I may or may not have gotten into their system and made the reservation myself; just had to move someone else's requested room."

"You hacked their system thingy?" She asked, shocked as if it was completely out of character for him.

"Barely, it was so easy, unsatisfying really." Her lips curled into a seductive grin as a flirty joke popped in her head but Amelia didn't voice it, she simply looked at him and kept on toward the elevator. "That smile is creeping me out. I feel like you're going to torture and kill me once we get up there."

"Bloody torture yes, killing no." She winked, slipping into the elevator with the bellhop and their bags. "Come on, don't be a wuss."

The elevator ride was silent and awkward and that didn't fade until Juice sent the bellhop off with a twenty for his trouble. Throwing himself on the California King, he stretched out, ready for a nap after the long drive. He could hear her bustling around the room, one eye popping open to see exactly what she was doing.

"Meels," he groaned. "I need to sleep." She pouted and he sat up. "You want to go out? Does Tacoma even have a nightlife?"

"Seattle is like an hour away and one of my favorite bands is playing this low key gig. I wanted to come up early and go, but I couldn't make it work cause of the party, but we're here so can we go? I don't have tickets, but maybe we can find a scalper or something?"

Exhausted and working on a mean headache, Juice didn't really want to go; especially after driving almost twelve hours. "Can I nap just for an hour?" He was already popping two painkillers to help his head. "Then we'll see if we can't get you in."

"You are the best." She beamed, making it all worthwhile for Juice. "Sleep, I'm going to shower and grab a bite to eat, okay?" All she received was a grunt as he rolled over and kicked his boots off the end of the bed.

* * *

><p>When the guys left Mae also stepped out; she had an evening NA meeting to attend. The stress of the shooting, her own possible illness, although that was getting easier to ignore, was all mounting. She needed some strength. There were a few faces she recognized, not many as she barely made it weekly, but she certainly wasn't a stranger and there was comfort in that. She knew these meetings would be more frequent and although she felt Opie hated the reminder, Mae was getting more used to it.<p>

When she stepped outside, as other recovering addicts smoked around the exit, she saw Hale in his shiny new squad car. Mae tried to back step, but he'd already seen her. She smiled and waved at him as he made his way over. "Mrs. Winston."

"Hello David." There were plenty of people mingling around that neither of them noticed the random woman watching them closely. It was the good Sheriff's Deputy that caught her eye and she was glad he did.

"This is actually a little coincidence. Checking on a disturbance call a few blocks away, had to write it up."

"In your car?"

"Best to do it before I forget important details, I'm not very bright you know that." He ran his thumb down her cheek. "You look good, happy."

Mae smiled at that. "I am, me and Ope are good, the club is home. I'm very happy." The woman listened casually, catching names and other small details before slipping away. "If I need anything, I'll call you."

"Look, I just found out," he pulled a paper out from his uniform jacket. "I wanted to tell you, Stahl was transferred to Florida." Handing her the most likely confidential transfer notice, he shrugged his shoulders. "You don't have to worry about anything. She's gone."

* * *

><p>There was not one shady scalper around. All the weed Juice had brought wasn't of interest to the gigantic man guarding the back entrance to the venue. Instead, they paid for parking anyway and perched on the hood of her truck. They could hear the music, muffled but still clear enough to enjoy.<p>

"Did you really think you could bribe that security guard?"

Shrugging off his embarrassment, he was able to laugh at himself. "At least I tried. What a stupid hipster straightedge asshole."

"Ohh, you're bitter. Sounds like someone really wanted to see Chris Carrabba." She laughed and relaxed back against the windshield. "It's fine, my anxiety is high. The crowd may have been a bit much anyway."

Lying back, their hands clasped tight between them, Amelia and Juice just listened, their eyes following a few random planes above or sneaking a peek at the other. Before the start of every new song, Juice could feel her excitement. It had been barely an hour before a certain few opening notes sent her straight up, a nostalgic yet sad smile on her lips. "I love this song."

Juice smiled from his spot and slowly sat up; he wrapped his arm around her shoulders to hold her close. "What's it called?"

"Living in Your Letters," she pursed her lips to keep from crying. "I used to listen to this when you were locked up, it reminded me of us. JC, I mean I had this on repeat all the time. Certain parts," she paused, "Like this one, 'Pouring over photographs, I'm living in your letters. Breathe deeply from this envelope itt smells like you.' It made me think of you sitting alone reading what I wrote." He could feel her temperature skyrocket and she began to giggle clumsily. "Wow that made me sound crazy. I know it wasn't this dramatic longing thing, I'm just being silly."

"Hey, you don't sound crazy or silly." Leading her lips to his Juice kissed her. "I did smell your letters once," he whispered, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke, "But it just smelled like paper."

"Continually failing these trials but you stand by me nonetheless and you won't let me sink." She sang softly and looked at him with a lopsided grin. "Let's go back, I want to talk to you about a few things."

Straight away, they left and headed right to the hotel. Amelia bolted into the bathroom to wash her face and try to find the words. This wasn't planned, but if her being raped changed anything, she needed to know as soon as she could. The longer they went on together the harder she fell and she couldn't risk getting wrapped up with him anymore. When she timidly stepped out into the hotel room again she smiled, Juice was on the balcony smoking.

"Hey," she called out before joining him. "So I gotta say some stuff," those words terrified him. "Just let me say it, okay? If it changes anything, I get it trust me just please tell me. You have to, okay, I don't want it to but if it changes us that's fine. I just have to tell you."

"Okay," Juice pronounced every letter slowly. Putting space between them she stepped back and gripped the railing behind her.

"I was raped when I was sixteen in the woods off Castle Road, behind the playground."

Amelia could feel herself immediately crumble as Juice's face turned from anger to sorrow and settled in disgust. Every ridiculous word Keith said to her was being proven by Juice as he stood before her. She looked away as subconsciously her own feelings of disapproval, blame and repulsion were projected onto Juice. It was all she could concentrate on.

It shouldn't have been such a surprise, all her fears and little rules almost made it obvious, but at the time it was far from his mind. Something so horrific wasn't immediately what came to mind. Juice just figured it was from the abuse, but now it was clear. Had he been prepared his reaction wouldn't have been so visceral and palpable. Adrenaline and rage pumped through him, the need to make another human bleed had never been so strong.

"So yeah," she whispered, sure he was showing her what she needed to know with just his expression. "I'll get my own room or something."

She stepped back into the room, mortified and heartbroken. It was natural for him to feel that way, but in her mixed up brain, the only reason it affected him was that it disgusted him. He watched her quietly, as his lips turned into a deep frown and his eyes filled with tears. Juice walked over to Amelia. Taking her trembling hands in his he kissed her knuckles then pressed her palms to his chest.

"Amelia, I am so sorry someone hurt you like that, sweetheart, I am."

When she looked at him, a few big, fat tears rolling down her flushed cheeks, Amelia didn't see hate or disgust anymore she saw love. "JC," she began to blubber as she spoke. "Please don't hate me."

"No, I do not hate you. What that asshole did changes nothing."

"I'm not right," she tapped her head. "My dad made it worse and Keith. That asshole ruined my body and they ruined my fucking head."

"Hey, you're not ruined." Juice was struggling to keep himself together. The intense hate and sorrow was twisting his mind. "So, you got a few issues." He didn't try to tell her she was right or fine; he knew she wasn't and the remaining issues were obvious. All he could do was work through them with her and tell her how he felt about it all. "Whatever you got going on, you've had since we met. I'll put in the work if that's what it takes."

She shook her head as he pressed her to sit on the trunk at the end of the bed. She was unwilling and unable to believe anyone would sign up for such a journey, one her own father couldn't even commit to years ago. It was impossible to think anyone could love her when she hated herself so deeply. "Keith sabotaged you, your therapy, everything so you'd stay with him. Whatever bullshit he filled your pretty little head with is wrong. He's wrong about Tig too, he doesn't hate you he hates himself, he hates what that asshole did."

"He told you?" She gasped, mortified and infuriated.

"No," Juice said adamantly. "He told me there was shit that happened, something that he couldn't stop and what it did to him and your relationship. Tig loves you so much, he's fucked up and he isn't as strong as you are to work on himself."

"I'm done," she stood up, but Juice didn't move. "I can't do this." He could see she was thinking on whatever sick, twisted things Keith burned into her mind. Wanting to keep her still but not scare her he dropped to his knees in front of her, his hands holding her cheeks.

"Amelia," Juice's face was puffy as he fought the urge to cry. "Tell me what he said, I'll disprove it all."

Closing her eyes, she heard a chorus of horrible insults and lies. "No one else will ever want you." Amelia whispered. It hurt, but saying it aloud changed its weight and force. "I'm the best you're going to get. You're ruined, dirty, disgusting," her voice trailed off.

"None of that is true. Amelia, you're not any of those things and he doesn't know shit. He's not the best, he's dead because he's a fucking piece of shit," less than poetic but Juice couldn't find other words fast enough. "If he was the best you wouldn't be here. He would have killed us and he didn't."

"No one wants you," she countered, praying he could disprove that as well. "And no one will ever love you but me," she began to cough as she held back her sobs. "I can't do this." She repeated. "I want to go home."

If anyone questioned him, Juice would have assumed rage would be the go to emotion in this situation but it wasn't, all he felt was extreme sorrow. "He's wrong," Juice stayed on his knees and looked up at Amelia lovingly. "It's not true, Meely, I love you and I want you."

"What?"

"I love you," he said again with conviction. "I have since before Sacramento."

Amelia beamed, never having been happier in her life and threw her arms around him. "Shit, I love you."

"I like Tacoma," he said with a smile and lifted her as he stood up. "I'm sorry for everything."

"Don't apologize. I should have told you sooner."

That would have been a big help and much less confusing, but he was just happy she finally told him, when didn't matter. He laid her out on the bed, no intention of even kissing her. "I'm not gross?" She asked as he whipped off his cut.

"No," he grinned wickedly, even though it felt inappropriate he couldn't help it. "You could never be gross, trust me."

"I do trust you," she sat up. "Come here, please." With a new spring in his step, Juice joined her on the bed and the moment he laid down, she rolled over and looked at him with big, innocent eyes. "I'm ready."

He was floored by that. "Are you sure?" Juice hadn't even thought that would be a possibility, but he could feel the difference in her. Amelia was lighter she looked less laden with fear and pain.

"I'm sure," she giggled, "Very, very sure."

Not wanting to ruin anything by talking, he moved to his side and kissed her, his hand on her waist as they scooted closer to each other. Her hair smelled of pomade, her light perfume was a scent he loved. Every touch was gentle, painfully slow, but exciting and filled with anticipation. When he slipped his hand under her faded, old T-shirt they both grinned at the innocence of it all. Her skin was soft, he hadn't even felt the few scars left from injuries she had yet to detail.

"I'll tell you if something isn't right," she said pulling the shirt off completely.

Juice groaned inwardly and clenched his jaw as he looked at her, in nothing but her bra and a pair of tiny shorts. In his den it had been dark, but the hotel was bright and he drank in the vision of her. As soon as their lips met again, he blindly popped the clasp and she slid her bra off. Juice nibbled on her collarbone, his hands caressing her breasts. Every touch was sweet and intensely charged as they completely stripped down and Juice took the opportunity to explore every inch of her.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for reading, I wouldn't be writing without you. I would so love to hear from you so please, review if you're so inclined. It really helps! xoxo**

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><p>"Hey," Jax slapped Rat's feet off the couch, waking the prospect up with a jump. "Anything?"<p>

The young man sat up, straightening his cut and shook his head. "Nah, nothing. They're all sleeping. Tara said we'd head up to the cabin in the morning."

"Get out of here," Jax said with an appreciative slap on the shoulder. "I want you back by morning though. I got some shit to handle."

"How'd it go with Galindo?" Jax shot Rat a look and the young man quickly began to backpedal. "I just mean, sorry I shouldn't have asked.

"You don't have to worry about the cartel. Get some sleep." Normally he'd tell the kid to go get drunk and laid, but Rat was on task and meant to protect the family. "See you around eight."

When Jax crept into the bedroom, Tara was sitting up with a notepad in her lap. She smiled; it was marked by a deep burden, and slipped the paper and pen away. "Hey."

"I thought you were sleeping," he said softly. Jax wished she was sleeping; he was too tired to talk.

Huffing she whipped the comforter around and hung her legs over the side of the bed. "I was trying," she admitted. "My head is racing, I can't settle down. How did it go?"

"It's not the Irish." Jax started with anything but mentioning the cartel. "Mayan clubhouse got hit too; they've gotta be connected."

Tara's eyebrow raised high into her hairline. "And what connects you two?"

"What do you want me to say?" He faced her, arms crossed tight over his chest. "Probably Lobos, but Tara this could have happened with anyone; Niners, Irish. We voted it in; I can't just end it without taking it to the table and you know that."

"Then take it," she snapped. "Juice and Opie will back you. Clay is your bitch, that's four. Piney and Bobby would jump at the chance and Meels can talk to Tig. That gets you seven and a guaranteed majority."

The fire in her voice was strong and he could see her passion in the stone expression she wore as she stared at him. Jax covered his face and nodded slowly. "I just need some time." His arms fell to his sides, heavy with the same burden Tara carried. "Guns, drugs, I want out of all of it."

"I know you can do it," she said, her voice was soothing as he crawled into bed beside her. "No distractions."

"Why are you here?" He asked as he brushed her hair from her face. "Why did you stay?"

Relaxing against him she sighed, a tiny sob escaped her. "Because I love you and if I go, you're stuck here with no one pushing you to change or to leave. I'm not giving up on you, Jax, not yet."

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><p>Mae's tiny feet creaked under her weight as she crept down the hall from the bathroom and back into the bedroom where Opie was. It was somewhat funny to her to be staying there with him and his dad. She'd never had that cliché movie moment, sneaking around at night for a quickie while someone's parents slept down the hall and while this wasn't exactly like that, it was close enough to make her feel she'd experienced something normal for once. They had dinner, the three of them, and Mae shared the news about Stahl. They still wanted her dead, but knowing she was far away while they dealt with the more pressing and volatile situation was a relief. Once Lobos was handled, she was sure Opie would dive in again. Closing the door quietly she snickered to herself.<p>

"Now I know where you get your snoring from." She joked. "Piney shakes the damn house down."

"Are you okay?" He asked her, ignoring the lighthearted banter. "The shooting, I haven't had a chance to talk to you."

She smiled and nodded. "I'm good, shaken but not only was I on the run from the Niners, I've been beaten by a white supremacist, kidnapped by a rogue CL member and have had more than one gun pointed at me. I can manage, Ope."

"Stop," he said sharply. "I don't want it to be like that."

Her eyes fell, her chin quivering as she felt her wall start to crumble. "Okay, I am scared."

"Me too."

Her eyes bulged with surprise as she changed into one of his V-neck t-shirts before slipping into bed. "Will we ever just be okay? It's been one thing after another."

"We had a nice ten month stretch." The bed shook as he laughed at his own joke. "This was bound to happen; assholes flexing their muscle. Now we know better; Romeo won't let this shit happen again. I won't either."

"What do you think?" She looked down at her stomach with a dreamy smile, pushing all the darkness from her mind. "Boy or girl?"

Flicking the shirt up to expose her midriff he pressed his lips to her skin, right below her navel. "One of each."

"No twins," she swatted him away as if just saying the word so close could magically make another baby appear.

"Okay, just one; I'm feeling a boy. You?"

She chuckled, of course he'd say boy. "I just want our baby to be healthy but," she smiled guilty. "I wouldn't mind either."

"You want a girl, don't you?"

She smiled but didn't admit as much. "If we have a son, Ope," her smile fell and she realized why she didn't want a baby boy. "He's not patching. I mean it, he'll have to grab that cut over my dead body before I let him patch."

"No dead bodies, Mae. If we have a boy, I'll highlight the shitty side."

"That shouldn't be hard," she mused. "I don't want Kenny to either, but I think after Donna he's pretty against joining up." Opie nodded; she'd pegged Kenny correctly. "I feel good." She did, any fears over the impending test results washed away as they snuggled beneath the sheets.

"Me too," he buried his face in the pillow. "But I'm fucking beat."

Mae nodded in agreement. "It's so quiet here, I love it."

"Enjoy it," he mumbled and draped his hand over her stomach. "Babies are loud."

"I doubt you'll be getting up for midnight feedings." Mae turned to face him, but he had already fallen asleep; he really must have been tired. Kissing his cheek, she nestled herself closer and not too long after was snoring ever so softly along with him.

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><p>When Mae pulled herself out of bed Piney, Opie and Tara were already up and sipping some coffee. She stopped short of entering the living room and just watched for a minute; Mae almost forgot why they were even there.<p>

"Morning," she sat beside Opie. "I'm surprised you're here, Tar."

She shifted in her seat and nodded. The decision surprised her too. "Yeah, I won't be here all day though, just for the morning. I wanted to get the boys out and about and away from the madness."

The four of them glanced back. Thomas was gumming a teething ring while Abel worked on figuring out exactly how to make the stuffed bear laugh again. Raising children in the club was truly a shame, but it gave the adults hope and more of a reason to do what they had to no matter the difficulty.

"Yeah I have a few clients this afternoon; looks like you get the cabin back for a few hours, Pop."

Opie laughed and slunk down in his chair. "That won't change much." Gulping his coffee down Opie left the mug on the counter and kissed Mae goodbye. "Coming?" He asked Piney knowing he'd been isolated too long.

"Yeah," he grumbled and slowly got to his feet. "Are you two staying?" Piney asked Sack and Rat. They nodded and the Winston men left right after.

"Why don't you guys grab some wood for the fireplace?" They looked at Tara as if she was crazy, but did as their President's old lady said. The girls chatted, but the morning was ending and they both had things to do.

"How's your side?" Mae asked, gesturing to Tara's wound.

"Sore, but fine, oh shit. One second." She excused herself to call Jax, but Mae was whispering her goodbye a moment later. "Hey," she started to leave him a message. "I left Abel's medication on the kitchen counter. I need you to bring it up before you come. Please Jax, don't forget."

Jax had tried to answer Tara's call at a red light but couldn't in time. He listened to half of the message before it turned green and switched his signal for a left turn instead of a right. It was a perfect circle back to the house. He hadn't gotten far, not that it would have mattered, Jax would have gone back if he were a block or a state away. Without taking his helmet off, his keys jingling toward the front door, he glanced back to see Wendy watching him from her car across the street. He charged toward her with furious purpose and slammed his fist on the hood.

"What are you doing here?"

Pulling away cautiously she rolled the window down. "I wanted to drop this off," she waved an addressed envelope out the window. "It's just a letter. I think I've been going about this the wrong way. Going to Tara was done out of respect, but she won't budge."

"And you think I will?" He slapped the letter out of her hand. "You're dead to me and Abel. He will never know you."

The words stung, she swallowed slowly and nodded. "Well, I tried." She said defeated. "There's nothing you can do Jax. I'll have my lawyer file papers in the morning. I thought, with our history, we could work something out, but I'll never stop fighting to know my son."

Losing control, Jax gripped her neck and slammed her back against the seat. Leaning in through the window, he growled, inches from her face. "You don't come near me, Tara or my boys again. You're done, Wendy."

He released her, her own hands snapping to her throat as she coughed, tears burning her eyes. "Jesus, Jax. I'm not going to let you do this." She looked around to see an elderly couple strolling toward them. "What I'm doing has nothing to do with you or Tara; it's about Abel." She turned the ignition, "I'm not dropping this."

Speeding off as the couple passed Jax, she felt her heart pounding in her chest. She'd timed it just right. She could have the last word, but the risk was slightly less with the neighbors as a distraction and witnesses. Had she not been planning to before, Wendy still would have decided on a meeting; especially after that disaster.

"Well now." She smiled to herself when she spotted Mae in the back of the meeting room. Two days in a row was a lot for her and it made Wendy question how secure she was in her recovery and life. Picking a seat just three chairs away from Mae, Wendy was quiet and took the meeting seriously; that was never a question. She hadn't ever planned it, but maybe Mae could provide Wendy with an advantage or just a bridge to soften Jax and Tara.

"Hey," she whispered as the meeting ended. "Can I bum a smoke?"

"I don't smoke," Mae gave her a polite smile. "Sorry."

"Are you new?"

"To meetings, yes, not the area or recovery." Lightening up Mae shook Wendy's hand. "I'm Mae."

Hesitating for just a moment, Wendy smiled bright. "I'm Casey. You have a sponsor?"

Taken aback, Mae shook her head. It felt bold, they were just meeting and already she was bringing up such a deep relationship. "No, I don't really get close to people outside my uhh, circle. It's just me, my husband and our family that's all."

Giving Mae a disapproving look Wendy, or now Casey as she regretfully said on the fly, nodded. "Well, never hurts to branch out. New friends are always good. A different outlook or new perspective can change things."

"Yeah, I used to think that." Mae mused. "Things change."

"Oh yeah, when you met your husband, right?" Wendy laughed as they both inched their way out of the row and toward the vestibule. "My ex was like that; well really his mom. Family, family, family, it was this obsession. Sometimes I wanted a little breather. You need to stand up for yourself. Addicts tend to have low self esteem and men will walk all over women like us."

"I do stand up for myself," she said defensively. "My self esteem is just fine and the last person he walks all over is me."

Sensing Mae's blatant displeasure, Wendy went in a different direction. If she wanted to win favor she'd have to be less angry. Mae didn't seem to feel the way some old ladies seemed to. "Sorry, I'm just bitter. I still love him. I screwed up and they aren't big on second chances."

"I hate that shit," Mae spat. "Murderers get parole, but junkies can't shake that stigma; shit even if we only ever hurt ourselves. Harry," she laughed, "My husband, he's not really like that he just doesn't like to think about it. Some people though, it's the go to when they disagree or something. What do we know? We're just addicts, right?"

Seeing she'd hit a nerve, Wendy agreed with every word and used it to bond. Wendy truly did agree, but it seemed like a good way to have Mae begin to trust her so she continued. "That's how my ex is and he's no angel, but apparently drugs are much worse than anything he's done." She rolled her eyes with a loud sharp laugh.

"Oh," Mae wasn't sure what to say. There was no way she'd go on some tangent about Opie's own guilt, besides he never made her feel guilty for her addiction. He was just uncomfortable with it. "People need to accept their own faults."

"You said your husband is cool with it?" As soon as they stepped out into the sun and fresh air ,Wendy scanned the area for a Son; she never knew when one of the girls would have an escort. Mae had been able to talk Sack into taking a break while she went; it was a comfort thing really.

Smiling she nodded. "Yeah, he's great, but I can tell it bothers him. He never says that though. I had a _thing_ a while back and it helped me through the withdrawal but he'd much rather forget, deny and ignore it. Then again, there are things he's done I feel that way about so, it's only fair."

"Sounds like we have a thing for the bad boys."

Mae was suddenly tense; she didn't know this woman and any kind of clue as to who she was married to or involved with seemed like a massive risk. She forced a laugh and shrugged, pressing a hand to her stomach as someone strolled by with a lit cigarette. The last thing she wanted to do was come off stuck up, but after what had happened Mae was overly cautious and the slightest whiff of cigarettes was too much for her anxiety.

"You okay?" Wendy pointed to her stomach. "Gonna be sick?"

"No, I just hate the smell." Checking her watch Mae realized she had to run; she really didn't want to though. "I have work, but I'll be around. Maybe you were right about friends. Maybe if we run into each other again we can grab lunch?"

"That would be great. Support in all its forms is really so important."

"Yeah, it is." Mae nodded, suddenly feeling excited over the idea of a friend who understood her recovery and addiction in a way her family couldn't. The club was great, she loved them, but sometimes diversity was good thing. "I'll see you around."

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><p>"She's crazy," Amelia warned as they climbed out of the truck. "She might touch you and she will totally say some off the wall shit."<p>

The night before broke barriers and shuttled them into a new space with each other and in their own heads. Juice hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her tight to him. "I think I can handle it."

"Thank you," she gazed at him. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Juice knocked on the door and shrugged off the compliment. "Let's not find out, Duchess."

"None of that shit here, please."

"Amelia Jane," her mother screeched, "And your friend, you two get in here."

Juice chuckled inwardly; he could see why Tig was with this woman. It struck him as odd though. At first meeting, he wouldn't have believed Amelia was actually her daughter if she hadn't said so. They entered with a huge hug between the two women. The house was clean but decorated with tacky biker type décor and awful shades of paint.

"Mom, this is Juice." Amelia wasn't going to call him JC; she knew her mother would hijack that special name. "Juicy, this is my mother Desiree."

Desiree smirked seductively and ran her index finger down Juice's chest. "I always had a weakness for a man in leather, you're dark too. I like him, baby." She said over Juice's shoulder. "Good catch."

"Well, thank you for passing your taste in men along to Amelia, Ms. Haddock." Juice said with a sweet little smile.

"Call me Desi , please." She winked and turned to point to the couch. "I'll be right with you two. I have a few things for you, sweetie."

Amelia's face was a deep shade of red as they sat. Desiree finally left the room, allowing Amelia to breathe. "Jesus, I am so sorry. She'd sleep with you too even if she didn't know we were together."

"Too bad for her, huh?" Juice put a heavy hand on her knee and felt her relax beneath him. "She's fine, really. I actually like her; she's sweet."

"Please," she snorted between laughter. "She's a horny old broad. He'd never say it, but I'm sure if she didn't constantly _fall in love_, my dad would probably still be with her." That was true, Desiree Haddock fell in love often; usually before falling out of love with someone else. It was what caused her most recent divorce and the move from Tahoe to Tacoma.

"Here," she handed them each a mug of coffee and wiggled between them with an envelope of pictures. "You look good," she kissed Amelia's cheek, "You look happy for once."

"I am. I missed you, Mom."

"Oh baby," Desiree hugged her daughter. "I missed you too."

Although the relationship was strained and nonexistent at times, Amelia loved her mother. When she tried Desiree could be a good mom; she just had a hard time with putting in the effort. She was never consistent and found it better to have Tig raise Amelia. Surprisingly, he did better than she could have. Despite the pain and drama as the women aged, they found a middle ground and built something of a healthy relationship. Desiree had her own demons and Amelia couldn't fault her for that.

Desiree started on with the pictures, faded and dogeared, showing each one to both Amelia and Juice. "I found these and I wanted you to have them. Look, you and your dad at that Harley show. Didn't he take you for your fifth birthday?"

"He took me for every birthday, Mom." Amelia smiled nostalgically. Tig was young and handsome with his little girl perched on his shoulders. Clay and JT mingled in the back just out of focus. "See the others?" She asked Juice, hoping to pique his interest, but he was already smiling bright at the image and the giant gap in Amelia's front teeth.

"Thank God I didn't have to pay for braces," Desiree joked. "Would have had to start hooking!"

Amelia covered her face, but had to laugh; the woman probably would have if Amelia needed it. "My baby teeth were a mess. The adult ones grew in straighter, but I still had to do those straightening tray things while in Colorado."

"_She had to_." Just like a mother would, Desiree hated Keith and the things he forced on Amelia even the trivial ones like that. She didn't even know the half of it. "He was a sick asshole, but he paid for all that." Desiree said. "You were beautiful before; you didn't need that shit." As Amelia opened her mouth to respond Desiree quickly changed the subject. "Oh and this one was your middle school graduation; my pudgy girl."

"I don't know where I got my figure from," Amelia said embarrassed. She was far from stick thin, but since high school Amelia hadn't been overweight. She wore her curves with pride and was careful to keep her weight in check. If she didn't she would easily gain all of the weight back.

They poured over photos for the entire visit. It filled Amelia with love and a thankfulness for Tig she hadn't felt. Father and daughter had been so strained, it was easy to forget the wonderful times she did have with him. By the end of the pile Amelia had tears rolling down her cheeks and began missing Tig desperately. When she came home she planned on fixing things with him, but it wasn't until the photo session that she actually wanted to. Juice excused himself to give the girls a few moments alone; he had to check in with the club anyway.

"He's sweet," Desiree said with a smile. "I like him."

"Yeah he is. I can have these?" She asked carefully outing them away in her bag as her mom nodded. "I need them, sometimes it feels like it never happened."

"He loves you," she handed her another envelope. "He's just bad with responsibility, me too. We didn't do right by you baby, we thought we were, and we tried. I'm sorry."

Amelia nodded and held back tears. "Dad fill you in on some stuff?"

"He called when you were on your way. That boy is good. He killed that pussy Keith; don't you forget what he did for you."

"I won't. Just wish Dad saw how he is. He hates that we're together." Flipping through the paperwork in the envelope Amelia stopped and glanced at her birth certificate. "I have this already."

"What?" She pushed Amelia's hand down. "You don't need to look at that now. It's just for safe keeping." It was an impulse that Desiree wished she'd ignored and she regretted never destroying the damn thing.

"Mom, I swore I already had this."

"That's the original," Desiree said with guilt written all over her expression. "I had one reissued when you were a few months old."

Amelia looked at the crinkled paper, it all read the same but Tig's name wasn't listed as the father. That line had been left completely blank. "Mom," she looked up, her face twisted with confusion. "Why did you have it reissued?"

"Juice," Desiree shouted out. "I think it's time you and Amelia got moving; I'm not feeling too well."

"Mom," Amelia grabbed at her mother's wrist. "Why isn't Dad on this one?"

"I thought I wanted you to know but now," she covered her face and began to cry. "I shouldn't have done this."

Interrupting the moment Juice bounced back in. "Everything okay?"

"Yes," they snapped together. "Goodbye _Desi_." Amelia said, her mother's name heavy with disdain.

Storming out Amelia jumped in the truck while Juice said a confused and hurried goodbye. He got in and before even starting the engine took her hand. "What's up?"

"Nothing." Taking her hand back, she shoved the paperwork deeper into her oversized bag. "Let's just go. This visit was bullshit. She'll never change."

Completely bewildered Juice slowly nodded and turned the ignition. He had no idea what could have happened between them in the short time they were alone, but something big had happened. At a red light he ran his thumb gently down her cheek. "I'm sorry. Let's just enjoy the rest of the trip."

"I think I want to go home in the morning. I want to see my dad; I miss him."

Juice was deeply disappointed, but agreed knowing she was far too upset to talk about whatever happened. He'd try again as soon as she relaxed. "Alright, let's try to have fun tonight okay? We'll head out first thing."


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello! As always, I hope you enjoy this! Thanks for the support and for any reviews, favorites and/or follows. xoxo**

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><p>"We going back to mine?" Juice asked as they soared over the town line. They had fun the night before, but there was a heaviness about her he couldn't ignore. "They aren't expecting us for a few days anyway; we can take a nap and just veg out."<p>

Amelia shook her head. She'd done a terrific job of hiding, pretending she was okay the night before, but her façade was growing weaker. The truth pried at her lips but telling anyone, even Juice, was never an option. She knew what would happen, Tig could finally disown her; be done with her mess. She'd lose her entire family, including Jax, Chibs and even Gemma. Who was she if not a child of SAMCRO? The previously hated title of 'Tig's kid' would be gone; she never realized how she loved it until it was no longer true.

"Alright, I'll take you back to your apartment."

"I'll drop you off at your place; I want to go to my dad's."

There was absolutely no reason for Juice to feel jealous but he did, jealous and slighted. He didn't want to end their little trip so early. He knew something was wrong with Amelia but not what. Was she mad at him? Was that why she was picking Tig; to get back at him for something he didn't know he'd done? Why wouldn't she tell him? Why did she want to confide in Tig after everything? It hurt and angered him to no end.

"Just don't go running around alone." He turned onto his street and looked at her from the corner of his eye. "You were supposed to be gone as a safety precaution, Meels. I don't want you out without an escort. You're my girl and you've got SAMCRO blood. It's double the emotional damage if anyone got to you," he took her hand, "I don't want to take any chances."

Forcing a smile, she nodded. "I know, I'll be fine, Juice. Thank you."

There were a million thoughts racing around his brain. Maybe he pushed her too fast or she possibly felt he hijacked her talk about the attack with his own confession and she felt unable to express herself. His mind was a jumbled mess.

When they arrived at Juice's, they said a sweet goodbye before Amelia sped off toward Tig's. What would she say? Did he know? He didn't know, even thinking there was a chance was laughable to Amelia. She knew her father; he wasn't much of one really, not unless he had to be. When she was born if there was any chance he could get out of having another mouth to feed she thought he would have. As she stood on his doorstep, she suddenly worried if he even loved her. Tig had a huge reputation, one of carelessness and heartlessness; it was one she figured was well earned. At times, she thought it was a mask, a way of protecting himself, but now that she risked feeling the brunt of it she couldn't help but only see what everyone else did.

"What are you doing here?" Barely finishing the sentence Tig pulled her in the house and into a suffocating hug. "You're supposed to be with your mom and Juice, it's safer."

She nodded and gave him an apologetic look. "I missed you," she sniffled. "Des was showing me these pictures and I just, I really started to miss you, Dad."

Petting her hair Tig didn't let go and Amelia finally returned the affection with all her strength. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Like I said, I miss you and I hate how much we're fighting. She pulled a few photos out of her pocket and shoved them in his face. "We used to be buddies."

"Jesus Christ," he laughed heartily and took the photos from her. "I forgot all about these." It was from one of the many Harley shows he'd taken her to; some of their best memories were from those shows. They were sitting together on some bike; she didn't remember the significance of it, but the photo was beautiful even without knowing. "We had fun didn't we?"

"We did." She stepped from the entryway and sat on the couch. "So, you and Mom, when did you guys actually hook up?"

Scrunching his nose, he shook his head. "Shit, about a year before you were born I guess."

"So she got pregnant pretty fast?"

He laughed and sat across from her, slowly going through the few photos she'd given him. "Yeah, we didn't really get serious until right after you were born. I knew her for a while, knew what she was like, but man when I came back from that run and saw you," he smiled nostalgically, "I had to give it a chance. I wanted that happy home shit for you."

Amelia smiled at that, she'd never seen this side of her father. "And that didn't work out, but thank you for trying."

"We both know how your mom is." He said emotionlessly and placed the photos down on the table. "Don't matter, that shits over. Guess the visit didn't go well?"

She stuck her tongue out, showing her annoyance but hiding how deep she was affected. "It was a standard visit; she was flirting with Juice and just being weird."

"If you're home I don't want you alone. Where's that faggot you're dating?"

Amelia actually laughed a little, not at the joke but just her father in general, much of her anger toward him disappeared. "Home, probably sleeping; I wanted to see you." Her eyes filled up. "Daddy, I'm sorry for all that shit. Leaving with Keith and leading him here, my meltdown before you guys got locked up. Stupid fucking pharmacist ruined a lot of shit." That's what the official story was at least; it was easy to push when everyone was upset over the arrest in Sacramento.

"Don't apologize," he switched over to sit beside her, "You're my baby girl. My favorite too, if only cause you're here." Pressing a hard kiss on her forehead Tig jumped up when his phone buzzed in the kitchen.

While he was gone Amelia tried to calm herself. She had to remind herself that he loved her, but her main thought was that he never found out. He stepped back in the living room with a frown. "Baby, I gotta run, we're meeting Romeo."

"Don't," she begged. "Jax has his VP and Sergeant. We can watch a movie or something, please?"

Tig was about to say no and grab his cut, but he could see how upset his daughter was. Her entire life he chose the club over her and he was feeling the effects now. If he could salvage one relationship, he would. Of course Tig missed all three of his children, but now that he had the chance for a relationship with one, he wasn't going to throw it away. He'd easily give Dawn ten thousand dollars; he could give Amelia a few hours especially since she came to him for solace and not Juice.

"Mighty Ducks or Hook?" Tig asked and she excitedly began to clap. Nodding at his suggestions, she didn't care which movie they watched, both titles were ones they watched together when she younger. "Let me just call Jax." Stepping away again, he did just that. Jax's reaction was better than he expected.

"I get it, she needs someone around anyway." Jax flicked his cigarette behind him, accidentally hitting Chibs as he joined him and Opie. He didn't really care either way, it wasn't war it was a meeting, and if he could have the females handled during, he felt better about it. Glancing back, he gave Chibs an apologetic look, brushing off the ash and mouthed for him to call Juice. "I didn't know they were home. Juice hasn't even been around."

Tig grimaced and looked back at Amelia on the couch, Juice's disappearance that probably wasn't good. "They just got home. She said he was sleeping or some shit. Think they were fighting actually, be good for him to work anyway."

"Yeah, get his ass in gear. This is what I was afraid of happening with them. I'll have someone catch you up after we meet with Romeo."

Opie looked at Jax with intrigue as he jammed his phone back in his pants. "Juice is back? I called him a few hours ago, no answer."

"Broken hearts?" Chibs asked, skeptical and annoyed.

Truly, Jax didn't know. "You talk to him?"

"Aye, on his way, he said he was catching up on sleep."

"Long drive," Jax suggested.

"Let's just fucking leave his dick out of this, I don't care about anyone's domestics. I just want to put this shit to bed." Opie grunted as he sat on his bike as if he were to give more meaning to his statement.

"Where are you off to?" Clay asked as he sauntered by passed them. "Romeo found the shooters?"

Jax nodded, clipping his helmet under his chin. He had to rewire the way he thought about Clay. He hadn't been involved and he was still firmly in place. "Yeah, he's got names but they're still in the wind. Tomorrow we're taking them apart." He growled, turning the throttle. "Just waiting on Juice."

As if on cue, he rolled in, looking exhausted and miserable. The situation with Amelia weighed heavily on his mind despite it being seemingly small. She was in a bad mood, that was it, he just wasn't used to her pushing him away and it hurt. He'd finally found someone to click with and share things with, the things he couldn't share with him brothers, but now she was closing off. He felt his mind start to race.

"You here, brother? You good?" Jax knocked on Juice's helmet and asked quietly as Clay whipped out before them.

"Yeah," he forced an uncomfortable laugh. "I was going to come around, but that fucking drive killed me."

"Meels' mom is exhausting too," he chuckled a little; Chibs and Opie nodding in agreement behind him with goofy grins. "This is big, Juicy, setting up the Lobos sect up here, it's only a few guys but it'll send a message and keep us all whole. I need you in it, bro."

Juice nodded, trying to focus his brain. "I'm here, I'm with you guys."

* * *

><p>Just about as giddy as he could be, Clay sped up to the cabin. He wasn't concerned with who could be there. Piney was there and that was his intended target. If any of the women happened to be there, he didn't mind, they needed to hear what he had to say just as much as Piney did. The area around the cabin was empty. It seemed like no one was there, but back to the left of the cabin he could see Piney had in fact returned. He knocked on the door and smiled sweet and terrifying as Piney swung open the door.<p>

"Why am I not surprised?" Piney said, his voice garbled by the copious amounts of alcohol he'd been consuming. "You're not coming in here."

"I just have a question, that's it."

Piney stared Clay down, his shotgun down by his side, and nodded for him to continue. He knew this would happen; Clay would come and threaten Opie and Mae unless Piney came clean about whatever he was talking to Mae about the other day. "Go on then," Piney barked.

"You and the little junkie, what was that about?"

"Family business," he sneered. Piney hadn't thought of the club as a whole as family in a while. For him, weathered after so many years and exhausted, he knew whom he loved and trusted above all else. His son, his daughter-in-law, grandchildren and Jax, those were the ones he held closest and the ones he had to protect. SAMCRO was in his heart and while trying to protect and inform those five, he desperately was trying to straighten out the club.

Clay laughed as he moved to step into the cabin, Piney raised the barrel of his shotgun. "Hey," he raised his hands. "I'm not here for that. I know you're living in that damn past, peace and love for SAMCRO, but that shit ain't gonna fly now. Whatever bullshit you got in there," he jabbed his index finger over Piney's shoulder. "It needs to go."

"Why can't you see what you're doing? You're destroying the club, the one I BUILT with JT."

"What did you tell her?" Clay snarled as he stepped closer to Piney.

"I didn't tell her anything."

When Clay moved forward again Piney raised his gun. Unfazed, Clay slammed his fist into Piney's jaw and ripped the gun from him as he stumbled back and crashed on the coffee table. "You sure about that?" Clay asked as he stood over Piney.

"You can kill me, but don't think my boy won't cut your goddamn head off." With surprising speed, Piney grabbed the handgun that sat on a stack of old magazines and tried to get a shot off, the bullet winged Clay's ear but did nothing to protect him. In an act of revenge and self-preservation, Clay pulled the trigger, the buckshot exploding into Piney's chest and smiled as he watched the old man take his last ragged breaths.

* * *

><p>Mae knew Opie would have her head for sneaking away from Half-Sack, but she couldn't deal with him at the doctor. Hopefully he would understand and if he didn't he'd get over it. Having something to take her mind off the cartel dangers would be a blessing if only it wasn't her own mortality. As he signed in at the doctor's office, Mae felt her phone vibrating in her purse; it was Half-Sack she already knew it.<p>

When the nurse's assistant took Mae right back, her heart plummeted. Was it truly that bad? Her palms grew sweaty as she followed down the long corridor but the woman had a bright smile on her face that seemed somehow off-putting.

"Mrs. Winston." The doctor smiled wide and again she was terrified by the seemingly unusual cheerfulness. "Have a seat, tell me how you're feeling."

"Fine," she said quickly. "Pre-natal vitamins are helping with the morning sickness. The blood work, is it all back?"

He nodded and flipped open the file, Mae felt a sudden rush of heat to her tightening chest. "It's good." He assured her without even looking up, but that did nothing to calm her until she heard everything. "Your liver function is down, it's the beginning stages of liver disease, but it's not nearly as bad as I thought. I still want to monitor your pregnancy closely and there are a few extra little rules to tack on to your pregnancy list. Other than that, I think you can expect a perfectly normal, healthy pregnancy. I have a friend, fabulous hepatologist, I can refer for you."

Exhaling the deep breath she'd been holding as if her life depended on it, Mae smiled, tears filling her eyes. "Thank God, I thought you were going to tell me I was dying."

"No, but this won't just go away. It's going to get progressively worse. How quickly is really case by case. It is a serious issue, but until we get that baby is born, you don't have to worry."

She sat back, her levity dampened by the reality check. "I did some research," she frowned. "Dialysis and eventual transplant, right?"

"Worst case, right, but that may not be for years; maybe even five to ten if ever. You're focusing on the wrong things here, Mrs. Winston. You need to focus on the pregnancy. This is not a death sentence."

"But it could kill me?"

"Yes," he said regretfully. "Like I said, progression is case by case, your family history would be a great help in predicting it but not necessary. We are going to do everything we can to keep you up and kicking. I'll have you dancing at your child's wedding. Now, there is still a risk of all those standard pregnancy complications but this, the decreased liver function, won't play into the health of your child."

"So, the prognosis is good?"

"It is. Like I said before, I'm not an optimist but catching it this early is excellent. Your baby may have just saved your life. Once you give birth, there are medications and we can look into removing the affected tissue, if that is an option. I'm going to send you for a fetal ultrasound and one for your liver."

Mae tried to put it all in perspective. She was fine for now, the baby would be okay and they knew about the problem. Really, it was lucky they found it. At least that's what she kept telling herself. She and Opie would tackle this as they did everything else. Holding up her index finger to pause the doctor midsentence; she needed a moment before he went into the dos and don'ts. A sense of calm settled over her and Mae felt lighter; she would be okay, she believed that wholeheartedly. Sitting up straighter now she smiled and nodded for him to continue.

"Okay, sorry I just had to let it all sink in." She looked at the list of added precautions, none of which would end once she gave birth. "Wow," she skimmed down the paper. "No red meat, no alcohol, reduced salt intake," it went on and on. If she had to do this, Opie would too.

"It seems like a lot, but actually it's a better diet even for someone with a fully functioning liver."

"Yeah," she smiled. "Healthy, my husband is going to hate it."

"He should be relieved by the news; it's really better than I could have expected."

They finished their conversation before moving into an exam room where the nurse took Mae's vitals. She'd gained a pound since her last appointment and that filled her with excitement; things were going well. The doctor was able to find the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler; the swift little beats filled the room and hit Mae hard. That was her child's tiny heart inside of her it was mind-blowing. She wished Opie could have been there for it, but there would be time for that. Mae felt wonderful and positive about the entire thing. Beaming, she slipped into her car and sent Sack a text so he could meet her before calling Opie and heading to the cabin. First thing she wanted to do was tell Piney; he would be thrilled she just knew it.

"Hey baby."

"_Hey, what's up? I'm kind of in the middle of something."_

"I know, I'm sorry. The baby's good, I want to talk to you about a few things though when you're done."

"_Is everything okay?"_

She paused and crinkled her nose. "Well, yeah, it's just a few things for the future." Opie would be upset, she knew he would but with all the literature the doctor had given her she was sure he'd have a better outlook soon enough. "I love you, Ope."

"_You first, babe."_ He hung up without another word and Mae waited patiently for her leather-clad escort to arrive before heading back to the cabin.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: You guys rock! Next week might only be a two chapter week with the holiday. I'll see what I can do. As always, messages and reviews are appreciated! Thanks to my usuals who hit me up! You guys rock. **

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><p>"Pop?" Mae was beaming as she bounced out of her car, Kip trailing behind, and headed right for the cabin. "Piney, you better be sober." Stepping over the threshold she stopped. The living room was a mess and there was blood spattered and smeared around.<p>

"Is this all the bags, Mae?" Half-Sack shouted as he trudged onto the porch with grocery bags lined up his arms. "Did you put any in the trunk or just the backseat?"

"Sack." She whispered, afraid there was someone still in the cabin. That was all she needed to say. In a flash, the bags were on the floor and his gun was drawn.

He shook his head and pressed his finger to his lips to silence her. Mae watched, her heart rattling against her ribs and her breath caught in her throat, as Half-Sack stalked through the living room and to the back hall. Dropping down to the couch, she felt around her purse for her phone, but she had left it on the passenger seat of her car.

"Goddamn it." She heard him hiss. "Mae, the house is clear, but just stay out there."

"Why?" She was already on her feet hurrying back to the hall. Mae hadn't taken direction from anyone aside from Opie and Jax in a while and she wasn't about to start then. "Sack is Piney okay?"

She got her answer as she turned the corner to find Sack standing over Piney's dead body. "Mae," he sighed heavily. "He's dead." The young man had tears in his eyes as he tried to push Mae back, but she plowed through him and took a knee beside Piney. They knew right away the cause of death, shot point blank in the chest. Clay had crudely carved the letters L and S in his forehead to point them in a very different direction.

"Oh God, Pop." Mae pressed her hand to his cheek. "Jesus," she broke down and began to cry.

Crouching beside her Kip tried to pull her to stand with a gentle touch. "You need to call Ope and get him up here." She looked at him; horrified by the idea of having to tell Opie what had happened, and shook her head. "You gotta it ain't my place, Mae, you're his old lady."

"I don't even know what to say." She shook her head, ashamed of herself. "Some therapist, huh?"

Before standing, she kissed Piney's cheek and headed back out to compose herself before calling Opie. It was pointless; the moment she calmed down opening her mouth again would just upset her. Pacing on the porch as the phone rang she kneaded her favorite vein; the idea of a hit even the smallest little dose was consuming her.

* * *

><p>The men met, shook hands and spoke casually for a few moments before actually settling down to business. As usual, Jax and Opie strolled ahead with Romeo and Torres. "There were eight and we found five." Romeo gestured back to the rickety barn. "I should have the other three by sun down."<p>

Jax nodded with a tight smile on his lips as his eyes darted between Romeo, Torres and the building. He couldn't wait to get in there and let loose on the men that hurt Tara no matter how slight it was. "How'd you find out?"

With a rough, horse chuckle, Romeo shook his head. There were few people who knew his secrets, even fewer were alive, and he wanted to keep that number as low as possible. The wind picked up, whipping around some dirt as the six men measured each other by their own separate standards. Up until that moment Jax had no reason to not trust Romeo, he'd come to the rescue a few times and the shooting wasn't solely on him.

"And what happens to them when you find the others?"

"We split them. Show any others that none of us, Galindo, Sons or Mayans are going to be fucked with."

Opie was usually quiet in these situations. He only opened his mouth when it felt pertinent or he knew Jax wasn't thinking down the same line he was. As VP, he needed to let Jax run the show. He was good at his job, subtly giving Jax the guidance he needed. Right then, he needed the answer to a seemingly innocuous question.

"And where are they? The Mayans?"

Torres joked, "The Vice President, he speaks. Alvarez is talking with our little friends."

"Jackie, you should get Happy up here with him." Chibs added just above a whisper as he and Juice lingered in the background.

Catching the comment he nodded, a devilish smile on his lips. "I have some guys who wouldn't mind helping."

The four continued to talk strategy and Chibs turned to Juice, clearly lost in his own head. "What'd I tell ya, Juicy boy? She'll turn your head inside out but you didn't listen."

"I'm fine." He replied. "Just tired."

With his hands resting on his belt Chibs laughed. "What happened?"

"You won't say anything?" He asked hoping his close relationship with Chibs would keep the conversation from hitting Tig's or Jax's ears.

"It's between us, boyo." The close friendship wasn't expressed, but Chibs felt the closeness with Juice as well. They seemed like a strange pairing, but connected quickly and easily from day one. Some of the brothers just clicked; Clay and Tig, Opie and Jax, Chibs and Juice.

"She told me what happened," he didn't have to elaborate. "We talked and I said something, but I think it was too much."

Chibs bent over, laughing loudly and slapping Juice's arm roughly. "Shite, you told her you love her?"

"Yeah, why?" The joke was way over Juice's head as he looked at Chibs wide-eyed for some explanation. "Come on, I told her and she said it back and then we –"

"I don't need those details, not about that one." Slowly he regained his serious expression, but not before a few questioning looks from Jax and the others.

Juice timidly stepped closer to Chibs, embarrassed and desperate. "I really care about her, brother."

Ready to level with him, Chibs nodded knowingly and confidently tried to advise Juice, but Jax and Opie paced passed them. "Shite, what's happened now?"

"Mae," Opie's words were hushed. "I can't talk."

"You need to get to the cabin." It was only his voice that could pull her from her thoughts of dozing off with a needle in her arm. "It's your dad." Before another word left her lips she heard a startling crash from inside the cabin again. "Sack?" She called out.

"Mae?" Opie was now panicking, already running back to his bike despite being in the middle of the discussion with Torres and Romeo. "Mae, shit, are you okay?"

There was nothing on the other end of the phone, not a sound, so Opie shoved his phone away and looked up as Jax ran after him. "What the fuck happened?"

"I don't know." Not bothering with his helmet hooked to his saddlebags, he turned the ignition and gripped the throttle. "Something happened at the cabin. Mae's there with Piney. I gotta go. You can deal with this, brother."

Jax raked his nails through his hair and nodded, fear and rage crashing over both of them. "Go," he called back behind him. "Juice, I want you with Ope." In the moment, Chibs was best suited for the meeting while Juice could handle whatever emotions were brewing under the surface. "Call Hap, have him meet you at the cabin." He instructed Juice as Opie spun out without waiting. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Juice hated that Jax had him with Ope. He really wanted to discuss the situation with someone he could actually trust when it came to personal issues. Duty called though and Juice headed right out after him.

* * *

><p>Arriving only minutes after Opie, Juice was heartbroken by the scene unfolding around him. His first instinct seeing the distress was to call Amelia, but he had to see what happened before spreading his anxiety to Tig and the others.<p>

"Honey," Mae met Opie half way between the cabin and his bike. "Wait, before you go I gotta talk to you."

"Are you okay? What happened? Is the baby okay?" He was gripping her shoulders tight, unaware of his strength as she painfully tried to wriggle free. "What's going on, Mae?" He growled; his patience nonexistent as she attempted to speak, but kept getting cut off.

"Me and the baby are perfect. That shit on the phone, that was nothing but look, Ope." Mae didn't know what to say and Juice could see that as she faltered. "Your dad was killed; sometime while I was out someone broke in," she began to cry, "I'm sorry Ope, I am."

"Dad?" He stepped away from her, but Mae followed him, grabbing at his cut. Ignoring her, he continued calling out to Piney. "Pop?"

"Ope please don't freak out." She stumbled back and directly into Half-Sack when Opie violently ripped himself free from her grasp. "Shit," she cried out, "He's going to lose his mind."

Juice jogged to Half-Sack and Mae, she wept into Kip's shoulder. He could see Opie was severely distraught, but he hadn't caught the conversation between him and Mae only the anguished expressions they all wore. "What happened?"

"Piney was killed," he lowered his voice, "Lobos."

"Jesus Christ." Juice's head fell, his palm to his chest as he said a quick prayer to himself for his fallen brother. He expected as much, but hearing it was murder and not poor health panicked Juice. He typed a quick, vague text to Amelia and waited impatiently for a response. Awkwardly Juice stroked Mae's back, unsure of how to help her. It was all he could think to do, he felt for her, but they'd never really gotten to know one another. "Who all knows? Is everyone else okay?"

"Yeah, everyone else is fine. Mae didn't want me to tell anyone before Ope got here, but I called the guys; we need everyone up here." Half-Sack was still upset himself and rattled by his overreaction while Mae had been on the phone with Opie. He'd tried to blame it on anything else, even Mae since she had left the door open, but he simply panicked when some feral animal found its way in the house. He'd shot at it, the wild thing he could barely identify, before it scurried away.

"Did you actually talk to Tig?" He asked briskly. "He's with Meels; he can't bring her up here."

He paced with undue anxiety as Tig's phone rang but eventually went to voicemail. His next shot was Amelia, but she too didn't answer. He was starting to panic; cursing himself silently for not calling her as soon as he knew there had been an attack on a club member. How could he have trusted Half-Sack's word for Amelia's safety?

"Yeah, he didn't say anything about her."

"Are you sure he and Meels are okay? I can't get her on the phone. I gotta go check on her." Barely taking a step Juice stopped as he caught Jax, Tig and Amelia with the others coming through the wooded road to the cabin. Jax and Chibs must have went by the club so they could all arrive together; solidarity was important.

"Amelia," Juice ran to her side as she climbed off the back of Tig's bike. "Are you okay? I was freaking out."

"She's fine." Tig snapped as he draped his arm around her shoulders and began walking toward the others.

Passing them quickly, Jax shook his head at Juice, this wasn't the time and everyone needed to deal with things their own way. He didn't care if Juice needed Amelia; he just wanted to keep the peace when emotions were running so high. If Amelia wouldn't comfort him, he'd have to deal with Piney's death the way the rest did, hard liquor. Jax's eyes were red as he hurried along the path to where Mae was standing. "He okay?"

"No." Mae looked up at him with darkness in her eyes. "He doesn't want me. He pushed me away, almost hurt me. He didn't mean to, he's just gone. Jax, I'm scared."

"Alright, let me go talk to him." Glancing back at his grieving brothers Jax pointed to Chibs. "Call Romeo, Tiggy call Skeeter."

In the back of the group stood Clay, silently playing the part of stoic but pained club patriarch perfectly. Inside he was smiling. His plan to blame the cartel had worked and he was free of the entire ordeal. He watched as they mourned; he noted the dynamics. The prospects, Rat and Phil, were hunkered down at Jax's with Tara and the kids. He was sure they'd rather be there than have the harsh reality of their life choices staring them in the face. Tig and Amelia were standing close while Juice lingered around them awkwardly. Jax had gone in the cabin and left Mae with Half-Sack. Kozik joined Happy as he circled the building on guard, as usual. The newer members were more stunned than hurting. To them Piney was more of a symbol, a living legend, than a brother or friend. Bobby seemed particularly pained by the death, more so than Clay thought, but it didn't stir any guilt or regret.

* * *

><p>"Ope," Jax gripped his friend's arms and tried to pull him away from Piney's body. "Brother, come on."<p>

"This was the fucking cartel." Opie roared as he stood and faced Jax. "They carved their fucking name into his forehead, Jax."

"I know," he hung his head in sorrow and shame. "I'm sorry."

Shutting down, Opie nodded. "I want those assholes, I want them."

"Where are you going?" Jax asked as Opie stepped away from Piney's body. "Ope," Jax called out after him. "You gotta get your head straight."

"I'm going to make sure this shit doesn't happen again."

"Romeo didn't find them yet."

Jax jogged back outside after Opie to see him approaching Mae and finally enveloping her in his arms. He let them connect. Leaning back on the porch rail, Jax watched his club mourn and felt a small part of him turn cold. All he wanted to do was blame Clay. He wanted the coke and because of that want, four of them ended up in jail, Piney was dead and Tara was hurt. Jax knew though that his support was what got it voted in, both times, and he hated himself for it.

"I'm taking him home." Mae said to Jax as she and Opie separated. "I'll put something together for Piney."

He nodded but seemed hesitant. "Why don't you guys stay somewhere else? This shit isn't over till they're all caught."

"We're going home. It doesn't matter where we are, this shit is everywhere, Jax. It could have been me or Tara and the boys. This is out of control."

"It's already being handled." He said angrily.

"Is it? You just told me not to go home because they didn't catch these guys yet, but now you say it's being handled. He jumped back in this for you. The least you could do is let him work through this his own way. We want to take our children home; that's what we're doing."

Jax scoffed and shook his head at her. "Who do you think you are?" Appreciating a strong woman didn't mean Jax accepted one popping off at the mouth; especially when he was already hurting and 're an old lady, Mae don't get that twisted."

"Meels." Juice made his move as the others all started to head back to the clubhouse for a long night of drinking. She smiled and glanced over as Tig and Chibs discussed something between themselves. "Are you okay?"

She shrugged. "I guess, it's so scary."

"Yeah, it is. Can we hang out? I'm not really trying to drink. I want to talk and shit."

"My dad is really upset, JC." Unable to look him in the eyes Amelia frowned deeply. "He's not going to the club so I'm going to head back to his place."

With an annoyed kind of smile Juice nodded. "Yeah, _he's_ upset."

"I'm sorry."

"What's going on with you?"

"Nothing." She insisted but it did little to convince him. "He's my dad."

"Yeah, the one you suddenly want to be around, makes sense."

"I should go." She hugged him tight as Tig approached. "I'm sorry for your loss. Piney was a great man."

Shocked by her attitude Juice watched as she climbed back on Tig's bike. Before meeting Amelia he was content, but after being with her and forming that connection he cherished, Juice could feel himself dreading any distance from her. He didn't want to be alone but especially not after what had just happened to Piney. As Chibs tugged his gloves on, Juice ran over to him.

"Hey brother, I'm going back to the lot with you."


	14. Chapter 14

**Love and thanks as always! Xoxo**

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><p>"So it wasn't Lobos?" Jax tugged at his beard as he and Romeo walked privately along the line of trees a few yards from the cartel's local cut and bag setup. Most of the club had been there during the night but Jax and Opie remained as the sun began to rise. The crunching of bone wasn't audible from that distance and the man was no longer able to groan but they both knew Opie was still whaling on the poor unfortunate soul who Romeo forced to shoulder blame. He knew it wasn't an actual cartel hit but Romeo knew the look in Opie's eyes and he knew the information was sensitive so he allowed the rage and loss to be excised while sharing the truth with Jax.<p>

Romeo strolled, hands folded over his oversized belt buckle, and nodded with solemn eyes. "If it was those men have balls of steel. I'd bet my life they weren't lying about it. They already admitted to the drive by, denying wasn't helping them."

"Whoever it was went to trouble to make it look them." Jax leaned close and lowered his voice. "Fucking carved LS into his head, man."

"I don't know what to tell you." Stopping he turned and faced Jax, speaking very matter-of-factly as he pushed his sunglasses up. "I think you have more enemies than even you know."

"Hey," Jax called out as Romeo began to walk away. "Why'd you tell me now, not with everyone else? Why'd you let him think that was the one?"

"Your VP needed closure. I figured you'd want to look into this yourself and maybe save some undue suffering."

Jax knew what that meant. Romeo wanted to keep things calm and if that meant giving Opie an outlet and keeping appearances up he'd easily do that. Those men were going to die anyway so why not lay some extra blame on them to smooth everything else out.

* * *

><p>"Thanks, Bobby." Amelia beamed as she gratefully took the bag of muffins from him, handing one each to Tara and Mae before breaking off a piece of one for herself. "I don't do this organic shit," she said popping a piece in her mouth, "But these are so damn good."<p>

"Always are!" He added as he dropped the larger bag on the bar for the guys. Jax and Opie still hadn't arrived back but the rest who had been at the warehouse gathered again but not before stopping for showers and fresh clothes.

"How's Ope?" Tara asked, picking aimlessly at the muffin. "He was a mess at the memorial last week. Jax was concerned."

For all her training, Mae still had a difficult time helping Opie through the gamut of consuming emotions that plagued him. Her own feelings were what made it so difficult, that and Opie wasn't exactly a textbook case. The kids were easier, they knew less which made their understanding much simpler but Opie was dealing with the loss and so much more. In the two weeks since Piney passed she'd seen sides of her husband she knew actually existed but was lucky enough to never have met before.

"Actually, he's better." Purposely vague, she shrugged and turned back to her breakfast, it wasn't her place to divulge. "We're trying to focus on other things."

"It's over." Amelia said with a smile. "That's seriously all I can think about. Anything else gets me crazy."

"Just that?" Tara asked skeptically as Juice eyed their table from his spot with Chibs and Kozik. "Those puppy eyes are even starting to get to me."

"Yeah," Mae elbowed Amelia. "What's going on with that?"

"Nothing." Feigning innocence Amelia wished she could just disappear. "I just… I want to work on family and Tig hates that I'm with him. I don't want to push my dad away or anything, besides it got real intense at my mom's and I just can't handle that."

Mae and Tara shared a look and pulled their chairs closer to the table but before they could speak again Juice was suddenly ghosting behind Amelia. Their surprised expressions told her all she needed to know. With a bright, fake smile on her lips, she turned to face him.

"Hey."

"Can we talk?"

"I'm having breakfast with the girls."

"Actually," Tara looked at Mae, "I have work and Mae has a meeting so you guys _can _talk."

Mouthing some scathing insults as they left Amelia relented and nodded. "How about the office?"

He didn't speak, just walked out ahead of her toward TM. He'd practiced this in his head all morning but before it even began he knew he'd go off script. Mae had been kind enough to offer some conversational tips, he had to keep those in mind. Waiting for her to sit at the desk Juice shut the door and flicked the knob lock. "So, we go to Tacoma and come clean about everything then we…"

"Had sex?" She helped him seeing he was unsure of how to word it, it was adorable the way he faltered and stumbled between 'fucked' and 'made love'. It killed her, Amelia was aching to be with him again even in the most innocent of ways and that display made it even worse. She loved Juice.

He nodded. "Had sex, yeah, and then I don't hear from you for a week. Suddenly after Piney's memorial, you come home with me but split before I'm even awake. I don't know what's going on."

She knew she'd have to answer for that night but Amelia was hurting and she missed him fiercely, the grief made her need for a connection overwhelming. She didn't plan to end up in bed with him but she did anyway. It wiped the pain away and gave her the emotional and physical connection she only wanted from him. Even though she had to deal with so much more now, she didn't regret it.

"You're pushing me." She said defensively, the wall he'd worked so hard to destroy was being built brick by brick again but this Amelia forced it up. "I came home to fix shit with my dad and he hates this." Her hand moved between the two of them, Juice grabbed her wrist and held her hand tight, it ruined her train of thought. "I'm… I'm just trying to keep him happy. I don't want to rock the boat."

"By making yourself unhappy?" Confused, his eyes scrunched as he tried to read her. "You can't hurt yourself for his happiness. He needs to get over us."

"Please stop. This is...too much."

"Too much?" He wanted to let go of her hand but wouldn't. "Nothing changed between us after that night." Instead of backing away, Juice was fighting for himself and picking away at her weak front that made little sense to him. "Nothing changed till your mom started rambling about shit. Just talk to me, Meels. Tell me what happened."

"You need to leave." She pointed out to the lot. All she wanted was to lay her worries on him but she was far too paranoid Tig would find out. The problem was far from paternity, it was her own self-worth and fear of being abandoned yet again. "The boys are back."

He didn't budge. "You're so used to being second to them, I don't do that. If you're ready to talk, let's fucking talk."

"I have nothing to talk about." She barked as Happy abruptly rapped his knuckles against the window. He was right, she was used to being dropped, that was the point of her grasping at time with her father. "If you're not doing club shit why don't we go to Hanna's for lunch?"

Juice nodded, agreeing to lunch even though he was angry and felt slighted. He wasn't going to give up though, that's what she was used to and he wasn't going to prove her right. That line of thinking gave him his answer as to what was wrong with her he just hadn't realized it yet.

* * *

><p>"There was another one." Opie said as Jax opened the meeting. Exhausted and sore from the pounding he'd given the last Lobos supporter he settled with a cigarette and a beer despite it barely being ten in the morning. He'd just hung up with Mae who had just ended a call with Hale before stepping into her NA meeting. "Croweater, Emily Dannon or some shit."<p>

His lapse was immediately forgiven, they all watched his run the gamut over the last two weeks and he was finally pulling himself together but he'd had a long night and a violent morning. Chibs grinned wickedly and nodded. "Duncan, Emily Duncan."

"Yeah that's it. B and E, Hale said she got knocked around but nothing that bad." While Mae felt bad using the call that was made specifically to protect her for club gain, Opie couldn't have cared less. He believed Hale wanted SAMCRO to know, he wanted them to find whoever it was because he couldn't.

"That's the third one." Jax stated as he unconsciously ground his teeth. "First the gas station right outside town, then the barber shop and now one of the hang around chicks."

"That gas station might not be connected," Bobby mused.

Juice nodded, throwing himself fully into the meeting to try to get out of his own head. "Yeah man, it got knocked over three months ago by those stupid kids from Nevada."

"They're coming closer." Tig said with a nod to Clay.

"Exactly." Clay leaned forward, his hands folded on the table. "First outside town, then a few miles in, and I'm betting that whore lives somewhere between Floyd's and TM."

No one said anything. They looked around for someone to have an idea but none of them had been there. Half of the guys weren't even able to picture that particular crow eater let alone know where she lived. Chibs started to chuckle. "If she's getting some it ain't at her place."

"No one has ever gone home with her?" Jax asked, annoyed now that his guys weren't more practiced with the woman.

"Why would we?" Happy grunted. "That's dangerous territory, man."

"I went home with a crow eater once. Someone was in the apartment so I went and man," Half-Sack looked anxious just remembering it. "She was on my nut for weeks after."

"At least it wasn't lonely." Kozik tossed a balled up piece of paper at him from across the table.

"Hey!" Jax snapped, annoyed by the playful tone of the room. "This isn't a joke. Croweater or not, she got hurt because of us."

"And it ain't stopping." Opie added with a hard look at Half-Sack who was joking in whispers with Tig. "It's not the cartel, small time shit like this, besides Galindo's crew made sure they won't be up here. That's handled."

"Who else we looking at?" Tig asked with his attention on Jax rather than Clay.

"Realistically it could be anyone." Juice said. "Niners, Russians, small time crew trying to muscle in or build rep."

"Pussies trying to build rep," Chibs laughed. "Did they not see what happened to the others?"

"This stops," Jax said with a dark tone. "I don't need Charming turning their backs on us because they think we can't protect them."

"But can we?" Half-Sack asked timidly. "I mean we have no idea who this is."

"We're not doing our jobs if people just stroll right in and fuck our shit up." Bobby sagely said as he looked at Jax with a cold stare to keep him from attacking Half-Sack. He was still new but speaking up was a good thing even if only Bobby recognized it.

"We got lazy," Chibs explained.

"Time to remind those fuckers that shit stays out of Charming." Already hyped up Tig was smacking his hand on the table.

"Better do it before the town turns on us," Clay said warningly.

"Charming won't turn on the club, not after this long." Jax spat, confident and rageful. "I can handle this."

* * *

><p>"Hey," Wendy dropped into the folding chair beside Mae. "How you been?"<p>

She smiled bright, for the first time in a while it wasn't faked or forced. "Good."

"How's Harry? Still having a hard time?"

Struggling to find the right words to accurately describe it without giving too much away Mae just nodded. "Yeah, he's back to work and all though so he's getting there." They turned to the front as the meeting started and sat quietly together. The moment it was over though, Wendy jumped right back into the conversation.

"You used to do family therapy right?" She asked quietly as the meeting room emptied.

"Still do kind of; most of my clients want to talk about issues with their kids and home life. Why?"

"I need your help."

"With what?"

They stood and inched out of the row. "I have a son and my ex is keeping him from me. I screwed up, I won't deny that but I'm clean and I need some advice about what I can do. I mentioned it to him but he's threatening me and I can't really report that to have evidence for a trial but there has to be something."

"You have a son?" Mae was still stuck of that big piece of information her knew friend hadn't shared. "And wait, you can't report because he'll go after you, right?"

"Exactly. My son, he was born early, he was really sick because of me. I backed away, went through rehab but now it's time I get to know my baby."

Mae's face fell and she nodded, thinking about the baby growing inside of her. "I can give you some leads, a few people I know who may help with your case but there's not much I can do in an official capacity."

"No that's great." Wendy couldn't have Mae help, not really, then she'd have to admit the lies she never intended to tell. "I have a lawyer and all but he doesn't specialize in family law so I could use some pointers."

"Why don't I just meet with your lawyer?" Mae was digging through her purse for one of her business cards, the crinkled rarely used few she was given when she was first hired. "I don't have a card on me but you can give him my cell number." Not a burner, Mae had actually given Wendy her personal phone number.

Struggling for a reason, Wendy cleared her throat before just blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "I think I'd rather kind of lead him with your suggestions. He'll have to add you on as a consultant and they'll be legal stuff from his firm, they'll have to pay you too. He's strict, he'll want to be sure you're on the up and up, you know us junkies." Wendy shot Mae a playful wink, the joke worked and Mae ran with the perfect out. "I'd rather just go about it in more of a friendly capacity, unless you don't mind the legal loop holes."

Mae laughed as she too tried to find the right words and not sound as suspicious as she felt. "Yeah, if you don't mind me doing it unofficially I'd prefer that. I can't be on a lawyer's payroll actually, DOC rules and all." She was less concerned with the DOC rules than with anyone around her knowing who her family was. It was nice to have a friend who had no clue about SAMCRO and Mae's connection.

"Works out then," Wendy said with a big grin. "So where do I start?"

"Well, if you won't want to go to the cops or you think you can't just document it all yourself. Anything he says to you or does anything at all. Obviously, he's less than respectable" Wendy nodded. "I mean, if you can get something relating to those activities to a judge, even if it's _anonymous _for your safety, that'll do wonders."

"I don't want to end up in a ditch. I think his record will speak for itself though."

Mae frowned and nodded. If anyone spoke of Opie or the club like this she would instantly defend them, refusing to believe it but now she was ready to vilify this mystery man. "I can write up some pretty words about the impact biological mothers have, it'll have to be leveled so it doesn't look too bias. I'll detail the positives in your situations and the negatives; I'll make it look good though. I think you should meet your son, Casey."

"Thank you, I'm not saying I want to run away with him or have full custody but I need to know him. It's only right."

"I get it. I'll set you up with an awesome child psychologist. The state will want meet with your son. Wait, how old is he?"

"Almost four."

That should have tipped Mae off. The boy's age, the situation and Wendy's past all together should have hit her but she was too concerned with helping. If this ever happened to her she would want someone to do the same for her, she was blinded by emotion rather than seeing the facts for what they were. Had she known the truth of what Wendy did she would have hightailed it out of there, her relationship with the club notwithstanding and that was why Wendy was now Casey.

"Great. The state will want to evaluate him but you should have someone else do it too. I know a great woman I worked with at my old job. She's kind of a nut but I think I can talk her into it. All I can do is introduce though, maybe give her your lawyer's number. You know how the legality of this shit is and with my job, it gets tricky."

"You're great Mae, thank you. I knew you'd understand."

"Of course. I'll do whatever I can."


	15. Chapter 15

**Wow, thank you all so much for all the feedback earlier this week. I seriously love hearing from you all and it really helps keep me going through the blocks so please keep it coming! Love you guys, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you! Thank you! Xo**

* * *

><p>"Can I just get a coffee?" Amelia asked politely as the woman jotted down Juice's order. He looked at her, mouth slightly open; Amelia was usually a big eater. "What?" She asked reading his expression. "I'm not hungry."<p>

Hunched down he looked across at her and waited for her to speak, but she looked everywhere but at him. Already Amelia regretted suggesting lunch and they'd only been there for five minutes.

"How's school?" Sloppily he tore at his napkin, the little pieces littering the table in front of him.

"It's fine. I missed some classes with all the shit that's been happening, but email is a lifesaver." As the waitress poured the coffee, Amelia waited for her to leave. "It's all easy, core curriculum stuff."

This was comfortable for her, Amelia really liked it despite the underlying tension, but it wasn't enough for Juice. It was clear he was hardly enjoying the meaningless banter as much as she was. "Meels, I – "

"How's business at the dispensary?" Cutting in before he could ruin the nice conversation they were forcing, Amelia tried to keep it light. "I told someone in my class about it, he was super pumped for better strains and his place was really expensive."

"As long as he has a card it's all good; we can sell it to him."

"Oh" she laughed, "It's _totally_ for medicinal purposes."

"You were there the day before yesterday." It was a loaded statement and she knew she couldn't stall much more.

"I was," she nodded. "I know you usually go for me, but I was feeling independent."

"Oh so what, you're a feminist now and I can't pick up for weed for you?"

"Please don't do this, Juice."

"Why won't you talk to me? We always talk. I could talk to Chibs, Jax, or Bobby, but I want to talk to you. Why won't you just tell me what's going on?"

"Nothing." She snapped, her hands slapping down on the table. "I said slow and this isn't slow." Speaking in a whisper now after calling so much attention to herself, Amelia felt her cheeks flush. "I need to focus on school, work and shit with my dad."

"If that was true, fine, but it ain't. Tell me what changed. You said you were ready. I was following your lead. What made you suddenly decide this isn't right or good or it's too fast."

It was right; they were right. It was the first and only good thing Amelia ever had. There was no answer she could give him or even herself. "I need to work on myself, find myself. I spent years just trying to make it, to stabilize and now that I have, I don't even know who I am."

"What?" The word was a harsh whisper, his face scrunched as he tried to understand what she meant exactly. "Meels, what don't you know?" Aggravated and manic, he began gesturing with his hands while speaking. "Do you want a crash course? You love purple, you think it looks great against your skin, but you won't wear it cause you say it clashes with your hair." He barely needed to stop for breath as he continued and began mimicking the movements as he described them. "There's this thing you do, right before you fall asleep, where you cross you ankles and rub your feet together. It used to annoy the shit out of me. You hate most movies from the nineties, but you think Tim Burton's best came out that decade. You love when I suck on your collarbone and that-"

"Jesus, stop it."

"What? Did you already know all that?"

"I need to work on shit with my dad. Why can't you get that? I've said it a hundred times, JC. He doesn't want me dating you so I'm putting some distance here."

"Bullshit. I'm not playing these games, Meels. We're together, he'll get over it."

"I just need to deal with this." That was the most truthful she'd been with him since Tacoma. She had to deal with the paternity issue, but she didn't know how.

"I don't do well alone," he admitted. His own lies and secrets weighing on him. "I hate it. I was good for years with the club, but now after being with you; I can't just turn that off. My head gets crazy, loud and nothing syncs up and I can't make sense of anything."

"I'm sorry." Betraying her attempt at a stone expression, her chin trembled as he admitted his vulnerabilities. Juice hoped it would prove something or wake her up, but she was too scared, paralyzed by uncertainty and overwhelming emotions. She turned her head but it didn't hide anything. "JC, I love you, I do and I get what you're saying, but I need some space."

"Please." His eyes glistened with tears as he pleaded with her. "We can hide; we can pretend we broke up. I just want to be with you."

"I don't want to hide." Her voice cracked as she pulled a twenty-dollar bill from her purse. "I need to wrap my head around some shit."

"Tell me what it is."

"I gotta go. I have a lecture."

Juice didn't move from his seat as she left and climbed in her truck. She studied her face in the mirror; her cheeks were red and her eyes bloodshot, but that didn't take away from the fact that Amelia looked like a stranger to herself. Desiree was right, she had looked happy in Tacoma. For the first time she was happy but it felt wrong. Depression had been her life and while she did want to please her father to keep him close, she was trying to shield herself from the pain that was coming. It wasn't visible and she had no clues but over ten years of experience had her trained so well that Amelia didn't even see herself sabotaging the best thing she ever had. Tig was an excuse, not a reason.

* * *

><p>"Mamie!" Kenny called out to her from the living room. "Uncle Jax is here."<p>

"Is he?" She scurried into the room and through the peephole saw Jax shuffling around. Swinging the door open, she smiled and welcomed him in with a standard obligatory hug. "I wasn't expecting you."

With a nod, he walked through the living room, giving each of the kids a warm greeting. "So _Mamie_, we going out back?" He asked over his shoulder.

"Yeah, sure, I'll grab you a beer." She pointed to the TV as she passed the children. "Stay put, guys."

When he sat in Opie's usual spot she felt her back bristle for a moment. Jax's eyes lingered on the spot where he had killed Salazar. It felt like a lifetime ago and looking back at Mae a very rare pang of guilt hit him. "How you doin' darlin'?" He flicked the cap across into the bin by the gate.

"I'm fine. What's up?" She was still bitter about the way he spoke to her the day of Piney's death; it had been weeks but it got under her skin and stayed.

"I was checking in on Ope but I didn't see his bike."

"Yeah, he spends a lot of time just riding around lately. He was getting better, but last night and today he totally shut down. I mean, I don't know how it feels at all. I can't imagine either since I don't have parents but this is bad."

Jax's lips puckered as he weighed her words carefully. "Sounds like Ope. He had his own little therapy session this morning. I think that may bring him out of it, probably why he was off, thinking about it and shit. He thinks too much."

That made plenty of sense to Mae and even eased her fears. "Wish he would have told me."

"Take what you can get with him. This shit with Juice and Meels, do I have to worry?"

"No. She's just…"

"Crazy?"

"You're a dick." Mae shook her head, but giggled at his joke.

"She's just being Meels, I get it."

"She's doing better, getting her shit together. Whatever is going on, she's just working through it. All she has to do is trust Juice now, it won't be easy."

"Nah, it won't. I gotta ask you something." Leaning up with his hands on his knees, Jax examined her face for any reaction to his next question. "The last few days before Piney was killed, how was he? Did he say anything, see anyone?"

So much had happened she had to really take a minute and think about it. "No, not really. I mean he was always paranoid about someone hurting me or Ope, but that's not new. I told you guys he was really worried about Clay, but again, that's not new." She could see the gears moving behind his eyes. "Why?"

"I'm just wondering why the cabin; how they found it, if they were following him or you, even Tara." Noticing her own tells he tried to quell whatever he has stirred up accidentally. "You don't have to worry, Mae. It's all good."

"What about the home invasions? Do I have to worry about that?"

Jax actually laughed with genuine amusement. "Nah, whoever those assholes are wouldn't fuck with us directly. They messed with Floyd who is about a hundred and some chick. They're pussies."

Mae cringed and nodded. "Good to know." The sound of an engine out front sent her running to the gate. "Ope?" There he sat pulling his helmet off his head calmly as if he hadn't beaten a man to death hours prior. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry, I'm good." He said with a smile and kissed her temple sweetly. "I'm really good." He caught Jax lingering by the gate. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," she laughed. "We were talking about you."

"Boring conversation." He swatted her behind. "Head on in, I'll be right there."

The men met on the side of the house with a violently hard hug. "Checking up on me?" Opie asked.

"Shit yeah I am. You were gone this morning, man. Even at the table I could tell you weren't right."

"I wasn't, but I'm fine now. I just want to move on with shit." He looked back at the house and through the window saw Mae on the phone. "Jesus, another charity case."

"What's she doing now?"

"Didn't say, but sounds like some chick has some asshole ex screwing around with her so now Mother Mae's on task."

"You need to knock her up brother, give her something else to do." Opie smiled and nodded, it was the right time to tell him. Finally, he was able to separate what had happened with the first pregnancy from this one and from how he looked at Jax.

"That's the problem, I already did, but she's still at it."

"Shit, really? I was worried you were shooting blanks, man."

"Yeah, me too." They shared a laugh. "We found out like three weeks ago."

Jax beamed. "Congratulations, Ope. You deserve it."

"Juice was looking for you at the clubhouse." He said quickly before forgetting. "Looked antsy, that should be fun for you."

"Yeah, let me hear about Romeo and Juliet, like I don't have my own shit to fucking deal with."

Opie chuckled, feeling lighter and even happy. "I forgot how Prez turns into Daddy so easily. I think he just needed to run something by you; he seems to be keeping Crazy in check lately."

"Lay off," Jax laughed, "She's been sane on her own but he's sure as shit helping." Now Jax could enjoy that friendship without feeling so dependent upon. "I think it's got more to do with Tara and Mae setting her straight actually." With a sly smile he mounted his bike again. "Good girls we snagged there."

"Let's hope they don't realize they're slummin' anytime soon."

"Amen, brother."

* * *

><p>"What's up?" Jax had Juice meet him at his house; he was exhausted and unwilling to go to the clubhouse. If he hadn't sounded so urgent on the phone Jax would have just said they'd talk later.<p>

Juice paced slowly up the driveway to where Jax stood. "I gotta get out of town for a day, two tops."

"_Great_," Jax thought. "Shits heating up and you want to leave? What is it another trip with Amelia? I can't have you running off like this."

"Nah, not a trip." Jamming his hands in his pockets Juice sulked, hating to admit such emotional vulnerabilities when it came to Amelia. "Well, it is but its not with her. I gotta look into some shit. She's off, something happened and I need to work it out."

Raising his eyebrows he rubbed at his jaw while rolling it around in his head. It was nice having Amelia around, having her sane was even better and if Juice would take that burden on himself Jax couldn't complain. He had more than enough on his mind.

"No more than two days?" He asked. "I need you here, brother. You're in this with us." That was a heavy truth, Juice was the only other person who know the truth about Sacramento and Clay.

"I'll be back for the club dinner." He extended his hand and they shook before entering into a manly half hug. "Only cause Gemma will kick my ass if I miss it, not for you. Can you keep an eye on her? Maybe talk to her; she's being fucking weird and I know you can get into that fucking head of hers."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow, she where she's at, make sure she's okay." Jax nodded on his way into the house. "Do what you gotta do, Juicy just be back in time."

* * *

><p>"No, if you're scared Casey I can help you. I'm really good friends with the second in command in Stockton, David Hale." Mae glanced back at Opie as he walked back into the house after Jax left.<p>

He listened, twisting the ends of his beard between his fingers. Although suggesting Hale was smart and safer for him, Opie hated she went right to him. Ending the call quickly, frustrated by Casey's refusal to accept help, Mae threw herself down in the couch. "They just went up to bed. I told them you'd be up to tuck them in."

"Aren't they too old for that shit?"

"You've got more years of it ahead of you. Besides Ellie loves it and just because Kenny says he hates it doesn't mean you shouldn't say goodnight. He's still young, Ope."

Trudging up the steps he stopped and looked over her, she was clearly distressed. "I need you to stop worrying about this girl, Mae. You need to focus on your family." His words reminded her of the first conversation she and Wendy had weeks before.

"Her ex is keeping her kid from her." Mae hadn't told him the story, he was mourning, but she couldn't deny her own fears. "He thinks she's bad for him because she's an addict. If that was me," she held her hands to her stomach, "If you did that to me, I couldn't bear it. She's clean and it's not fair, Ope. If she was using I get it but she's not. Promise me you'll never take our baby from me, please. If I relapse I get it, but Opie if I'm clean you can't do that."

Walking backward down the three steps he'd climbed Opie's face was cold, his eyes cloudy and ominous. "I won't do that to you, but if you relapse and lose your shit Mae, I gotta protect our kids. If I got into some shit here with the club, I mean serious shit, I'd want you to take them away."

"I promise."

"Yeah me too." He moved back to the steps, but she wasn't done. All Opie wanted to do was sleep.

"Do normal married couples have these conversations?"

"We're not normal; we're a couple made of an addict and an outlaw killer. Let's just keep our promises and not make any of that necessary." He could see the weight of the conversation on her; the situation still bothered her. "I trust you, I do. We both have our fuck ups, babe."

"We're not a pair of angels." She cracked a smile taking comfort in his words. "This shit with Casey just scares me."

"I'm sick of you being so stressed over this chick. Just get me his name and I'll put some fear into him, but I'm doing it for you not her."

* * *

><p>"Want a beer?" Tig asked as he passed the joint to Amelia. She nodded and watched with interest as he headed out to the kitchen. "Hey," he called out. "Where's my picture?"<p>

She grinned. "Whiskers?" Amelia shrugged and took a drag. "I don't like her, so I hid it." Amelia didn't care who the woman was, the game was to make a point.

Furious he raced over to her. "That's not funny, Amelia." All she did was glare at him. Lunch with Juice had torn her apart, she was hoping to make Tig see what she did. To get some leeway and not have to be so cruel to Juice and herself. "This about him?"

"I won't see him if you don't want me to, but Daddy I love him."

"He's an idiot, Amelia. I lost a chunk of my ass because of him."

Her face twisted, disgusted and confused, but she didn't ask. "He's not. He's very smart and sweet."

"I think you need to work on yourself, baby. You don't need him to be happy."

"So you don't need that picture to be happy? I can just get rid of it?"

"No." He grunted and shook his head. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"I already did and it was a Son who saved me. I just need you to say its okay."

Tig could see the pain in her eyes and he could feel it while they watched movies and smoked. He couldn't be the cause. "You don't ditch your old man for him. I don't want to see you two making out and shit. Have some goddamn respect, alright?"

"Thank you!" She threw her arms in the air with a bubbly giggle. "You're my dad that won't change just because I'm with Juice, right?"

"Of course it won't, but you're not going over there. You're high and drunk and we just got to the good part." Settling beside her, Tig smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Just go in the morning."

"Okay."

"The picture, Amelia."

"The vegetable crisper," she laughed. "I wouldn't get rid of it, relax."

"Good God I never would have found it there."

"Exactly. Now shh, this is my favorite part."

* * *

><p>"This it?" The burly man attempted to jimmy the kitchen door open, but after growing frustrated decided to simply shatter the window with his crowbar. "He was sure the Puerto is out of town?"<p>

"That's what he said." The second man uttered from behind the ski mask as they sneaked into the house. "Personal." He gestured to the framed photo over the fireplace.

"This shit looks personal."

The first man grinned as he smashed the glass and using a shard scratched through most faces in the group photo. It was from Tig's party after Keith shot him, which was also the first night Opie really came back in with the club. Their spirits were high and that was the only way Gemma could get the entire club and their girls together for a family photo. It would hurt them all, an attack on one was an attack on the entire club and Gemma had spent a fortune on gorgeous frames for all the guys and girls.

"Alright," he yanked a tire iron from his backpack, "Smash this shit up and let's move."


	16. Chapter 16

**Happy Monday! Thanks for the reviews and follows over the weekend! Keep em' coming! You guys rock. Xoxo**

* * *

><p>"Hurry up, Jax." Amelia stood on the front porch, the broken and scraped up photo in her hands. She'd gone first thing to Juice's and panicked when she walked in to the mess left behind by the culprits. That panic went wild finding he wasn't home. She called and called him, but he didn't answer. Pacing she perked up at the all too familiar rumble of Harleys. She jumped down the few steps to the path and met Jax, Chibs and Tig by the garage.<p>

"What the hell happened?" Jax asked as Chibs took the photo from her and the three men inspected it.

"You alright?" Tig asked as he reached for his gun and moved toward the house. He knew she was, but he had to say the words. It was some unspoken rule.

"I am." She grabbed Chibs' hand before he could follow Tig and Jax. "He's not there. He's not answering the phone, Chibs. Where is he? I know you guys know; you wouldn't be so calm if you didn't."

Chibs smiled giving her upper arm a squeeze. "He's fine, dear. Went on an errand for Jax; he'll be back by tomorrow night."

Furrowing her brow as he headed in, she was suddenly the jealous, hurt one. "Why didn't he tell me?" She asked aloud as Tig called for her to come in after clearing the house. They had to be sure no one was sneaking around or hiding for another attack.

The house was wrecked. The furniture torn up, walls hacked apart, windows and the brand new glass cabinet doors were shattered. The few photos he had around had been ripped and scratched. She knew he'd be furious but also heartbroken. Juice had worked so hard to fix up that house, but moreover, it was his sanctuary and someone had snatched that away from him.

Tig smiled as he nosed through some photos on the computer desk, all were of the club and Amelia. His smile quickly fell as he came across one of his daughter in the Tacoma hotel room, making a silly face while naked in bed barely covered by the sheet. It wasn't taken to be sexual, but out of context that was all it was to Tig. "Oh Jesus." He crumbled the photo and tossed it in the small bin by the small file cabinet. "I'm less okay with this than last night." He grumbled and blamed the decision to give her his blessing on the weed and alcohol.

"Anything missing?" Jax asked as Amelia got a better look at the damage. When she'd first arrived, she hurried out of the house immediately knowing whoever it was could have still been there.

"I don't think so. Did they go upstairs?"

Chibs was just coming down the steps as she asked. "Juicy has more of this fancy body shite than I wanted to know about." Holding a jar of body butter in his hand, he pulled a face and handed it to Amelia. "Everything up there is fine, don't think they were there."

"That's actually mine." She smiled remembering Juice's first night home and his comments about how much he liked it. "Mind if I check up there?"

"Go." Jax said as more of an order than anything else. Once she was gone, he asked Chibs and Tig their thoughts. "Coincidence the place gets hit when he's not here and she's with you?"

"No way, brother." Tig said adamantly.

Chibs was less enthusiastic than Tig. "Then that means it's someone close."

"Who knew he was out of town?" Jax asked Chibs before looking at Tig. "And who knew you were with Meely?"

"Mae and Tara knew they were texting," he said with a put on, high-pitched voice. "And everyone at the clubhouse last night."

"Aye," Chibs cut in, "He came in looking for you, Jackie, right after those two left. He was talking about taking a few days to visit a friend."

Jax groaned and taking a few steps back laced his fingers behind his head. "So the entire club, a handful of crow eaters, hang arounds and whoever else was lurking."

"Who knows, he could have told someone at the weed shop or she could have opened her mouth at school." Tig added, the pool of suspects was growing more and more crowded. "Or someone there told whoever is lining this shit up."

Jax's eyes were slits as he looked at Tig, a man he never fully trusted, and Chibs, one of the members he trusted almost above anyone else. "We're in agreement though; this shit was planned. Whoever is doing this wants easy targets, but one that will make a goddamn point."

"Which is?" The Scot asked with a supportive hand on Jax's shoulder as they stared at Juice's house.

"That they aren't scared of us."

* * *

><p>Tig and Chibs left Juice's, but Amelia insisted she stay. The serious damage she couldn't do much about, but she could at least clean up the mess and call the locksmith.<p>

"He's got a lot of water and fruit." Jax commented as he searched for something in Juice's fridge.

"Yeah, he's really into taking care of himself, except for the whole smoking thing." As she swept up the broken glass around his feet, Jax hoisted himself to sit on the kitchen island.

Jax watched her; she seemed calm other than the stress of the break in. He couldn't really see what Juice had been talking about the night before. "Gem said you're doing really well at TM. No screw-ups and the customers really like you."

He could see her smile to herself. "I like it a lot. I wish I didn't but I do. I wouldn't mind it being like, a real job, long term and all not just while I'm in school."

"Oh yeah? How's Tigger with that?"

"I think he'd like it, actually."

"And Juice? If you two don't work out, how's that look for you and TM?"

She stood up straight and placed the dustpan by the trash can. Lifting herself onto the opposite counter she shrugged. "Depends. If he breaks my heart or does something awful we won't have to worry cause I'm sure my dad will murder him. If it's a mutual thing, we'll be fine."

"And if you break his heart?"

"You'll have to ask him that, Jax. I won't fuck anything up. It's a job and I know it's a family thing, but it's still a job and I won't do anything to you or Gem that I wouldn't do to any other employer."

"Then it's fine with me, Meely."

"Thanks Jax." She jumped down and continued cleaning. "You know, I love you guys; all of you. You're my family; you're all I have. If it wasn't for you and your support in Denver, I never would have come back here and I'd probably be dead by now."

Smiling bright he nodded and reached for a banana from the hanging fruit basket. "Don't sweat it, darlin'. It's in the past." Snapping the skin Jax took a bite and chewed slowly. "You good though? Piney and now this, it's a lot. I know you didn't handle this shit well before."

"I'm okay," she said as she poured the shards of glass into a paper bag. "It's insane, but you know, such is life."

"I'm just making sure you're holding up okay."

"I'm holding up okay," she eyed him from the floor. "Hey, what did your dad used to say, about blood and family or whatever?"

"Blood makes you related." He slipped down to his feet. "Loyalty makes you family."

"You believe that?"

"Ope's not blood and I love him more than anyone; he's my brother."

"He's patched." She said quickly.

"Oh," he chucked and offered her the half eaten banana. "You meant about you." Crouching down he stilled her hands as she attempted to avoid his gaze. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You're family, Meels. Tig, me, Chibs shit even my mom loves you. The rest of those assholes do too. Besides, you got SAMCRO in your blood so we kind of have to even if we don't want to."

"Yeah," she forced a smile. "Guess so."

"I'm heading out. I'll send Rat around; I don't want you here alone after this shit."

"Okay, thanks. I'll be here till he gets back and the locksmith is done. I don't want to just leave the place with the back door broken."

"Got ya. If you hear from Juice tell him to hit me up on the prepay."

"Yep. Will do."

He kissed her cheek quickly before seeing himself out the broken kitchen door.

* * *

><p>"Really Casey, Harry wants to help."<p>

"No." She was standing firm. "Any kind of threats could ruin my case, Mae."

"So wait," Mae asked confused. "He threatens you, but you think if I have my husband talks to him he'll run to the cops?"

Wendy shook her head. This was getting a bit out of control. "You know, I got the woman's number and what you wrote up about the impact bio moms have, that's great. I think that'll be enough."

"Please don't back down. He wants you to be afraid."

"I'm not backing down. I'm just overwhelmed."

"Alright," Mae relented. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Same junkie time, same junkie channel."

Mae and Wendy hugged then she quickly went back to the car. They'd just met on the way home to start dinner so Mae could give her the statement she'd written.

"Sorry you guys," Mae jumped back in the car. "I had to drop something off to a friend. Just one more stop at the market and then it's home okay?"

"Mamie," Ellie stuck her head up between the front seats. "Was that Wendy?"

"What?" She glanced at Ellie in the rear view mirror. "Wendy? Jax's Wendy?" Mae blinked a few times completely shocked they remembered her.

"Yeah." Kenny said as he pointed out the window where Mae had just been standing. "It looked like her."

Mae's heart stopped as she felt her throat begin to close. "No, it wasn't, but she does look like Wendy doesn't she?" She didn't know what Wendy looked like, but she knew how to find out.

"She really does." Ellie said, sure she recognized the woman despite how long it had been.

"That wasn't Wendy." Mae said coldly. "She's no one. Just forget it okay?"

Ellie sat back, but Kenny continued to look out the window. He hadn't the slightest clue why Mae would be so upset, but he didn't fight it. "Okay," he said warily. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She smiled. "I have some good news though, a surprise me and your dad have been keeping but we won't tell you until after dinner, okay?"

The children began speculating; their excitement growing as they went on their way to the store then home. Mae was certain by the time they were settled at the table with their homework that they'd forget all about Wendy. There was nothing she could do now, she couldn't even be sure it was Wendy, but Mae doubted Casey was who she claimed. It all fit, the details and timeline matching Abel and Jax were too perfect to be a coincidence.

"Shit, shit, shit," she hissed as the familiar rumble of Opie's bike ran down her spine. "I gotta tell him."

"We gotta talk." He grumbled before even shutting the door. "Guys go play outback while I talk to Mae."

The kids did as they were told knowing his tone all too well. Mae watched as Kenny shut the patio door behind his sister. "Everything okay?"

"Juice's house got turned over, nothing stolen but they destroyed the place."

"Great, this is just great."

"I need you to keep your eyes open. Just be really careful, please."

She could almost see his posture change as the weight of his VP position took its toll. He looked exhausted; the stress was set in his deep frown. Joining him at the table she took his large hands in hers. "I'm always careful, I'll bump it up, but Ope I gotta tell you something."

"Jesus, Maelynn, what is it?"

"My friend, Casey, she isn't who she says she is. I thought her ex keeping her kid from her was wrong, but she wasn't totally honest with me."

"She's a damn junkie, I'm not surprised." Seeing her expression change he rolled his eyes and reluctantly raised his hands. "You're not a junkie and you know what I meant. Is it bad? What happened?"

"No, it's not." She was clamming up, offended by his comments and attitude. "Nothing happened. I'll take care of it, make sure the people I got her in touch with know what happened."

"That's my girl, you got this."

"I'll take care of it, no stress."

Opie jumped to his feet and headed toward the steps. "I'll be down for dinner, I just need a shower first."

"Shit," Mae watched as he lumbered up the steps. "Looks like I get to earn my old lady card with this one."

* * *

><p>Juice wasn't sporting his usual grin when Desiree opened the door. He was exhausted, upset and annoyed he had to go so far for the truth. He hadn't thought about how Amelia would react when she found out he'd gone behind her back, but it didn't matter. Something was wrong and it was not only tearing her apart, but them as a couple. If she wanted to fight the help he offered, Juice was willing to risk her wrath just to get to the truth.<p>

"Juice, what are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you about your daughter." He didn't waste any time, he didn't have much to spare as it was. "I need to know what happened between you two when we were visiting." With his arms crossed over his chest Juice watched as she cowered under his stare. "I just want to talk, please. It's for Meels, she's real screwed up over what happened and I want to help her."

Desiree stepped aside and allowed Juice into her home. This time there was no flirting or cute conversation; neither was up for it.

"What's wrong? She didn't hurt herself, did she?"

That hadn't even occurred to Juice, but now there was another layer of worry he had. "Not physically, but she's cutting me off. She hardly talks to me and spends all her time with Tig. She's obsessed with making their relationship work to the point she's just doing whatever he wants even if it makes her unhappy."

All the happiness she waited so long for was dashed by Desiree's revelation and that fact wasn't lost on her. "She was always so desperate for him to pay her any attention. When it comes to him, for Amelia, choosing her over the club, giving her his time is a show of his love. Problem is he has no time, but he loves her unconditionally she can't see it though."

Juice nodded and sat back against the couch. "What happened here is what set her on this little streak. Was it just the damn pictures?"

"I made a mistake, told her something I shouldn't have." She said plainly. "I thought I did it for her, but I just wanted the guilt gone."

"What did you do? What did you tell her?"

Even asking with such urgency Juice was calm and even sympathetic, although she could sense his anger and plainly see his aggravation. Maybe Juice could be a bridge. If Amelia trusted him, Desi knew she had to even if it was just to help her little girl with the painful truth she'd unfairly thrown at Amelia

"Alex isn't Amelia's father, not her birth father. Truth is I don't know who actually is."

Juice's head and heart fell. Amelia's behavior although, childish and hurtful, made complete sense to him now. All she had was her family, the club, just like him and she was terrified of losing them just like he would be. He wondered if she feared she'd lose him as a result or just everyone else. The mortification of such a confession was written all over Desiree's face. Juice was livid she'd do such a thing, but pushing that subject would only exacerbate the situation.

"I wanted to do right by her, she's my only baby and he was the best pick." She tried to explain, but Juice didn't actually care why. "He still is the best one; I don't regret telling him Amelia is his. He loves her so much."

"_Tig_ is the _best_ one? Shit." He could see her chin start to quiver just like Amelia's and Juice sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. You have no idea who?"

"There's a few options. I don't really feel comfortable having this conversation with you."

"Well, you won't be having it with your daughter anytime soon."

Desiree pulled an annoyed face and pursed her lips. "There are two others it could have been. One was far too young and irresponsible, the other; it's complicated."

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter," Des said staunchly. "You should go. Amelia won't be happy you're here."

"How do you know if I told her or not?"

"I know my daughter and if you told her, you wouldn't be here."

"Look," Juice didn't fight her, she was probably right. "She's going to want to know who the options are at least. She's a mess. I think you've done enough damage, just let me fix this."

"She trusts you and if anyone finds out about these other men it'll hurt her so keep your goddamn mouth shut." Juice nodded, it wouldn't affect the club, but it would deeply affect Amelia; he had no issues keeping it to himself. "Herman Kozik was one. Alex doesn't know we were together at all." Desiree's eyes fell to her feet as she inhaled deeply. "And the third, well," two tears rolled down her cheeks, her heavy makeup streaking. "I don't know who he was. It was a party, I was black out drunk, things happened."

Shit. Juice tried to seem unfazed, but he was shocked and even disgusted. He knew people like that, even some of his brothers, but knowing a baby had come from it made it so much worse. "Yeah, cause Amelia being Kozik's isn't going to cause problems."

"You said I could trust you!" She shot to her feet, arms in the air as she fussed about. There was nothing she could do now. She trusted him solely because Amelia did and now she felt she made the wrong call. "This gets out, it'll destroy her."

"That's the only reason I won't say anything, that and I like Kozik. I don't want Tig to fucking kill him."


	17. Chapter 17

**Hope you're all well! Happy New Year! xo**

* * *

><p>When Juice arrived home the next morning, he fully expected his home to be in shambles still. He'd spoken to Jax and Chibs after leaving Desiree's, but every time he tried to return Amelia's calls she refused to answer. Assurances that he was safe and unharmed allowed her anger to reemerge stronger than ever. Turning the key to the front door, he moved to open and walk in at the same time, but the door remained locked and his head met the steel full force.<p>

"Jesus Christ," he growled.

"I'm coming, hold on." Amelia called out from the kitchen loudly. She swung the door open and grimaced at his sour expression. "I'm sorry; I didn't hear you pull up. I had the locks changed after the break in; the kitchen lock was destroyed so I had to have him out anyway." She paused and looked away from him, completely mortified. "That was bold, sorry, I should have asked but I couldn't get in touch with you."

"It's fine. Jax said you weren't here, thank God. I can't imagine," he stopped and shook his head. "Did you clean?" He asked, taking in the damage but noticing quickly the lack of debris around the house.

"Yeah, I couldn't do much about the damage, but I didn't want you to come home to the crazy mess."

"Speaking of crazy," he said slowly. "We should talk."

Immediately her back went up, she could see this was something important. "Why didn't you tell me you were going somewhere? I was panicked, I thought something happened to you. You told Jax and the guys but not me. I know I said distance, but Jesus you should have told me."

"I know, I'm sorry, it was kind of spur of the moment. I decided right after our lunch and I wasn't sure if you'd care."

"I care about you; more than anyone."

"Even Tig?"

"That's different, but I talked to him. He said he's cool with us; he just doesn't want to see it." She smiled, reserved at first out of fear he'd reject her, but slowly as he visibly relaxed she allowed herself to feel that excitement. It easily over shadowed her anger.

"Meels," he sighed. "I'm glad he's okay with us, but right now I'm not. This shit, the way you've been ain't a relationship."

She nodded, her excitement now draining. "I'm sorry."

"Talk to me, please. Tell me the real reason you've been pushing me away."

"Where were you?" She asked, suspicious now as he begged her for some answers. "I apologized. It's done. Why are you asking about that again?"

Juice shook his head. "You'll hate me. I don't even know why I went now, it was a mistake."

"Please, do not tell me you went to my mom."

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't, did you?" His silence was her answer. "You asshole! What is wrong with you? Jesus, I guess you are supposed to be in that leather. Here I am thinking you're different."

"I'm not like them," he barked. "I don't want you to bow down to me or play the damsel in distress, but shit, I need you to at least respect me."

"Oh like you respected me by going to Des, behind my back, to talk about me?" Amelia slapped at his chest and shoved him back hard into the kitchen island. "The others treat their women differently, have the final say and run shit and that is exactly what I would expect from them. So keep going on about how _different_ you are, JC."

"I was worried about you! If you said you were going through something, if you were just honest, I would have left you to it. You didn't so I had to take care of shit myself."

"Take care of shit?" She took a step closer to him. "That's how you take care of shit?"

"What else could I do? I asked you; I asked you over and over. I was so worried about you."

When she stepped to push him again he stilled her with one finger raised to her face. "Don't hit me again, Amelia."

She smirked at his order, the sudden control he took surprised and delighted her. "Or what?"

"This isn't a game." He snapped, annoyed by her lack of basic respect for him as a person. "I'm not going to one up you. Just don't hit me."

Throwing herself at Juice, Amelia kissed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck as her nails dug into his shoulders. He gripped her wrist and managed to pry her off of him. "What's gotten into you?"

"You're not like them," she said seductively. "But that doesn't mean I want you to let me walk all over you. I have never been more attracted to you than I am right now, when you told me not to hit you, that tone." She bit her lip. "I don't want you to be like that, like the rest of them, but I need you to come at me. I need to know you're the man and you won't take my shit lying down."

Juice tried to understand her, his eyes focused on hers for a second before he kissed her. He'd never tell her, she knew anyway, but sometimes Amelia was completely and without a doubt crazy. She'd been abused and controlled; she didn't want to do that to him even in the slightest of ways. She just had a strange way of showing it. He was sure her upbringing, watching them with their women warped her mind. She trusted Juice, she knew he'd never hurt her which is why she absolutely melted when he kissed her forcefully and stopped handling her as if she'd break physically and emotionally.

Knotting his fingers in her hair he spun her around, crushing her against the wall. He knew what she wanted now, a reminder, some proof that while he didn't own her she was still his woman. Amelia didn't want a man like the rest of them, but she still wanted a man; one that stepped to her and put her in her place when she needed it.

"You want to snap out," he mumbled breathlessly, "Have your little drama fits, go ahead, but you don't raise your hand to me."

"I'm sorry." She looked at him with an innocent smile.

Wetting his lips he ran his hands along her curves. "Jesus, you're impossible and I love it." He pressed his body against hers.

"I want to feel it tomorrow." She moaned as he ground his erection against her.

"Baby, you'll be sore for a week."

Juice knew they had to talk, but he was a man and the way she came on to him was too much to ignore. Even if he tried, Amelia wasn't backing down. She knew he had been to Desiree's and if she had any doubts he knew or didn't, she would have asked. Clearly either way she didn't care; he even swore he saw relief wash over her. Her paternity didn't matter to him and that lightened the load she carried.

He lifted her and pressed her up against the fridge. Pushing her skirt up, Amelia hissed as his SAMCRO buckle dug into her hip bone. "Rat's coming back." She spoke into his skin, her fingers nimbly working at his pants.

"Fuck the prospect." He groaned feeling her around him. "You're mine and I'm going to show you."

* * *

><p>Mae walked into Diosa, meek and incredibly uncomfortable, even scared. The place was crawling with half naked women, of course it was, but no one batted an eye as she strolled up to the front desk. The bubbly blonde greeted her with a welcoming smile, she could see Mae's apprehension.<p>

"First time? I know it can be overwhelming. What can I do for you?"

"Oh no," Mae blushed and her eyes grew wide as she adamantly shook her head. "No, no, no I'm not here for that. I'm married."

"It's okay honey, a lot of clients are." She winked and flipped through the book.

"I'm _happily_ married... to a _man_, I don't want a date."

Confused, the girl looked up at her expectantly. "Well then how can I help you?"

"My name is Mae Winston, I'm looking for Nero Padilla, well his girlfriend I guess you'd call her, Gemma Teller."

Without a word the woman picked up the phone and called back to Nero. "You and Ms Teller have a visitor, a Mae Winston." She nodded listening to Nero's instruction. "Follow me."

"This can't be good." Gemma said looking Mae up and down as she entered the room. "How'd you find me?"

Mae smiled politely at Nero. "Well you weren't at home or TM and your phone is off." She turned to Nero. "Hello, I'm Mae Winston."

"Nice to meet you, I'll give you two a minute."

"No," Mae said. "Stay, I might need your help."

"What did you do?" Gemma asked, angry and worried.

Mae swallowed hard and stood awkwardly by the couch where Gemma sat. "Wendy Case is a crazy bitch. She lied to me, buddied up to me at meetings and now she's using me to try to get visitation with Abel. Gem, I didn't know, I'm sorry. I never would have helped if I knew who she was."

Standing up like a shot, Gemma slapped Mae hard across the face. She stumbled back, pressing her palm to her cheek, and felt her eyes begin to well.

"Hey now, mama," Nero stepped between them, "I see why you wanted me to stay."

"What did you do, you stupid junkie."

"Not a lot, I swear." Mae hated Gemma in that moment for pulling that card, but she understood the woman's rage. "I wrote her a statement about biological mothers and their impact on toddlers and got her in touch with an independent child psychologist to evaluate Abel. I can go to the courts and retract my statement; tell them and the psychologist she lied, but I didn't know what else to do. Please Gem, I'm sorry and honestly, I'm scared of Jax."

Nero pulled Gemma aside as Mae watched with bated breath as they spoke in hushed tones. Maybe she should have gone to Opie, Mae wondered as she rubbed her still stinging cheek.

"Okay," Nero turned and smiled sweetly at Mae. "I'm going to give you ladies a minute, don't worry I think she's calmed."

Gemma watched as Nero left before turning her cold eyes on Mae. "You know what that bitch did?"

"I do and I hate it. She didn't tell me the truth or else I wouldn't have helped. I screwed up and I'm trying to fix it. I know the guys have a lot of shit going on so I was hoping to just deal with it; with you."

Gemma smiled at that, at least she didn't run to Opie to protect her, she wanted to correct her mistake herself. "This is something we can handle, domestics are our job."

"I'll do anything Gem. I want to tell Jax what I did, I have to, but not until Wendy is out of the picture."

"When are you seeing her again?"

"Tomorrow morning."

Already formulating a plan Gemma nodded and smiled. "Let's just enjoy our dinner tonight and we can deal with the junkie problem after."

"Can you…can you not use that term?" Mae shuffled her feet anxiously. "I hate it and she played on that part of me; the guilt plus the fact that I'm pregnant again. She used that shit to get in my head. I feel bad enough without being reminded."

"Oh baby," Gemma frowned and pressed her hand to Mae's red cheek. She softened to keep the woman close. "You're not a junkie until you fuck up; relapse or _otherwise_. So stay clean for yourself and that baby because junkies and SAMCRO don't mix."

Mad nodded. "Yeah, I'm seeing that."

"Congratulations, anyone else know?"

"No, just Ope and you maybe Jax? I don't really know if Ope told him yet we were going to wait."

"You did the right thing by coming to me. You clean this up and Jax won't ever find out."

"No I'm telling him, Gem. Once it's over I have to tell him and Tara I can't keep that secret."

Surprised but impressed by her honesty and earnest need to make it right Gemma nodded supportively. "Good girl. He'll respect that."

"Yeah, I hope so."

* * *

><p>"Your guys don't mind?" Jax and Opie met up with LaRoy and two of his men at an Oakland gas station. They topped off their tanks and spoke over the pumps to the Niners. "I'll send Half-Sack and a prospect, but the rest of my guys I need with me."<p>

LaRoy nodded and reached his arm between the gas pumps to shake of the agreement. Usually Niner deliveries were half and half, but when LaRoy needed to switch nights, Jax arranged to have it be a Niner heavy exchange. After what he, Tig and Chibs discussed the day before, keeping the patches close was a necessity. Jax needed his guys together at dinner; they needed the camaraderie after Juice's break in. The last thing he wanted to do was tell Gemma dinner was cancelled.

"You're good. I get it, short notice and shit. I just need the next shipment early."

"Trouble in the hood?" Jax asked as he returned the nozzle and screwed his tank closed. "We have some over stock of you're in need."

"I may just have to take you up on that, Teller."

"Your wish is my command." Jax joked.

"Juice is back." Opie flicked his burner shut and whispered to Jax. "Wants to know what's going on, pulled his own security tapes too."

Jax nodded silently, that was a conversation that had to happen. "We'll talk soon."

"We will." LaRoy said as he slipped into the back seat of the car.


	18. Chapter 18

**Happy weekend! Thanks for all your support! xoxo**

* * *

><p>"Dinner should be fun." Mae mused as she stepped out of the car. "Guys, remember what me and Dad told you, it's a huge secret okay? No one can know about your new baby brother or sister. You promise?"<p>

"Promise, Mamie." They chorused before running up the path to Gemma's door.

Mae felt better about the Wendy situation after talking with Gemma, but physically the pregnancy was already taking its toll even as she hit her second trimester. Meeting Chibs by the back door, Mae forced a smile and tried to ignore the constant nausea and malaise.

"Opie, brother." Chibs elongated the words, grinning as he shook the man's hand lightly and kissed Mae's cheek. "How we doing?"

That was always strange to her, the constant hugging and kissing. With Jax it was fine as Mae felt particularly close to him, same with Piney and the other females, but it always made her enormously uncomfortable when Chibs or Clay or the others touched her.

"Good, got that shit out of my system today. Back in it now, finally."

"I'm going to head inside guys." Mae said as a way to excuse herself.

"Aye doll, send Juicy out if ya don't mind?"

Mae did mind, but she nodded as expected and headed into the kitchen. The house was warm and the strong, delicious smells of dinner wafted into her nose making her dry heave. "You okay?" Gem asked as she greeted Mae with a knowing smile.

"Morning sickness is a joke. I have all day, everyday sickness and it's killing me."

She smiled, laughing a little and nodded. "I was sick with Thomas, not Jax though. You'll get through it."

"Yeah, just seems not soon enough. Where's Juice?"

"He should be in the other room with the guys."

Nodding, she stepped away and right into the packed living room. The club seemed so much larger when they gathered in a home. The clubhouse was built for their large physical presence and even larger smug confidence that filled the room, but here they were too loud and boisterous for the walls they currently occupied.

"Excuse me," Mae tapped his shoulder as he chatted up with Kozik. "Juice, Chibs wanted to see you. He's out back with Opie."

"Thanks, Mae." He kissed her cheek as he left the room. It was weird still, but something about Juice made it less annoying. Weaving through the crowd, Juice met the guys outside just as Jax and Tara arrived. She too forced a smile through the kisses she received. "Guys, what's up?"

Tara stepped in the house as a round of rough hugs were exchanged before any words. "Before we go relax and get so shitty drunk that our old ladies have to drive us home, I want to talk about what you found."

"Yeah, here." From the inside pocket of his cut Juice pulled out a few photos; stills from his own security footage from the break in.

"Shit, I gotta get you to wire my place." Jax said as he looked over the photographs.

"I wouldn't." Chibs joked. "Bet he'd be watching that live feed nightly."

Despite the seriousness, they laughed and passed the photos around. "No audio?"

"No, but they were talking. This one," Juice tapped the slightly smaller of the two men, "He was favoring his right side, could be a back issue or leg, but he was off. I couldn't get a clear shot of it, but the other one had nasty ass straggly hair coming out the back of his hat."

"Juicy, we think you were hit solely because you weren't home. They knew there'd be no interference." Chibs watched as the realization came down hard on Juice.

"Shit, so someone had eyes on us?"

"Doesn't narrow it down," Opie commented. "I don't think it really means anything."

"He lives the furthest from the other attacks and everyone else." Jax said. "Easiest to hit would be Tig and I think most of Charming knows he's hardly home so they could know when there'd be no fight."

"I need more than that before I go on a fucking witch hunt." Opie said staunchly. "You got no proof this was anything but random except your gut."

"I don't want a witch hunt; I want to know whoever is funneling out information. That's it. Besides when's my gut ever been wrong, Ope?" He didn't answer and Jax nodded. "Exactly."

"So what?" Juice asked suddenly on edge.

"Right now," Jax said slowly as he shook his head. "We just keep our goddamn eyes open and on our families. I just wanted to run this shit by you guys; see how you felt about it."

"Aye, I'm with you Jackie. This is more than some random junkie looking for cash to score. Some crew is targeting us, that's all we know."

Opie narrowed his eyes at Chibs but the Scot didn't notice. "Yeah it definitely ain't just a rash of burglaries. Just keep an eye out, boys." He slapped Juice and Chibs on the back and sent them on their way into Gemma's. Looking to Opie, he furrowed his eyebrows. "What was that about?"

"What?" Opie asked.

"You know what."

"You're getting them riled like we have some fucking rat. It's not hard to figure out our routines, see who is where and when. We need to keep everyone together and not raise suspicions. Like you said," Opie began walking back toward the house. "Keep our eyes open and just wait. Something will come up and we'll figure it the fuck out. Right now, we need to come together; we just lost our fucking patriarch. It ain't time for internal wars unless we know for sure. Don't let your trust issues with Clay, Tig and whoever else blind you. Don't give anyone a heads up your on to them either, brother. You're heading out half-cocked; rat or not, that's dangerous."

"You think it's someone close," Jax said quietly as he and Opie made it to the door.

"Maybe not a member, but yeah I do, but like I said," they shared a look as they entered the house and saw Chibs with Tig and Clay laughing it up. "They don't all know the history we do; you getting hyped ain't helping."

* * *

><p>"So this is good?" Mae watched Opie as he spoke boisterously with a few of the other guys. She and Tara were milling around with the children in the den while some cartoon played on the TV.<p>

Tara smiled and nodded, her eyes on Thomas. "Yeah, this is good. These dinners can be loud and annoying, but they're good for the guys and us."

"You hear from Wendy?" Sneaking a peek back at Tara, Mae watched for some kind of reaction.

"No, not for a few weeks. She's flakey. I'm not surprised; actually I'd be surprised if she didn't relapse or just get bored." She'd lowered her voice and stepped away from the children. "No lawyer would probably even take her case."

Mae felt her heart rate increase as Tara went on about Wendy. "Yeah, probably not."

* * *

><p>"You're lucky she's my little girl and knows how to push my damn buttons or I would have said no." Tig pulled Juice in for a hug and whispered the harsh words so Amelia wouldn't hear. She stood by excitedly watching them embrace for the first time since they got home from Sacramento. Even at Piney's service, Tig kept a stiff arm and cold shoulder when it came to Juice.<p>

"Was it the little chin shake thing?" Juice asked with a smirk and pinched his own chin. "Cause that gets me too."

"Shut up." He snapped quietly. "Glad your back, brother." Tig put on an obnoxious smile as they separated.

"Me too." He said as Amelia dropped her head on his shoulder. When Tig eyed her, she stood straight up, but kept her fingers tangled with Juice's.

"You guys getting anywhere with the break in? Scary stuff, it never used to be like this." She was desperate for normalcy between them all. It was no secret that any kind of animosity could be dangerous even if the guys didn't mean for it to be; harboring ill will made accidents that much more likely.

"You don't have to worry, baby." Tig said confidently. "We're getting there. Don't worry about it."

The strength in his words and even just in their stance made Amelia relaxed. She nodded and pointed back to the kitchen. "I'll leave you guys to chat." She kissed them both on the cheek before slipping off.

"You hurt her, I'll cut your dick off and choke you with your own goddamn balls."

Juice stepped back shocked by the sudden and incredibly violent threat. "Damn, I'm not gonna, trust me. If anything happens I can guarantee she's gonna hurt me."

"You better hope so. So where'd you really go?" He asked with a look of distrust.

"Nowhere man, I cleared it with Jax and Ope, that's all that matters."

"No, really, where?"

"When we were in Tacoma she fought with Des; I went to talk to her and smooth it over."

Tig's face screwed up as he looked at Juice, no smile or hint of a joke. "Jesus you are such a pussy."

"Then I guess your daughter's a lesbian, huh?"

* * *

><p>"Hey Gem." Amelia bounced in the pantry, speaking before she realized what was going on. "Can I help with anything?" She saw Clay pressing Gemma up against the wall, back in the corner and she immediately thought the worst. "Shit. I'm getting Jax."<p>

"No. It's okay." Gemma pushed Clay back, her lipstick smeared down to her chin. "He wasn't hurting me."

"I'm sorry." Amelia grimaced and shook her head as she stepped backward into the kitchen. "I won't say anything."

"I'd appreciate that." With his usual creepy smile Clay strolled past Amelia and out into the dining room. The moment he crossed the threshold the feeling in the kitchen changed and Amelia could breathe freely again. There was always something about Clay that didn't sit right with her.

"What happened to Nero?" She asked with urgency and intrigue.

"There's still a lot of love there." Gemma said longingly as she gazed out in the direction Clay went.

It didn't answer her question. Amelia didn't fancy a conversation about Gemma's romantic relationships and sex life, but she'd tease as much as she could. Picking at some vegetables, Amelia eyed Gemma and cracked a smile.

"I just wanted to see if you needed any help, but I guess you're all set." She smirked. "You're all taken care of; all your needs are satisfied?"

Gemma laughed and tossed a balled up kitchen towel at the young lady as she snickered. "If I have any needs I guess I'll just go to Juice, seems to be taking care of you just right."

"Stop!" Amelia looked at Gemma wide eyed and shook her head; she could definitely dish it but not take the same in return. "Jesus, can we just eat dinner already?"

"Now that all our needs are handled, yeah we can."

The girls laughed their way from the kitchen to the living room and Gemma called for everyone to pack into the dining room. It was tight, but everyone fit and there was not a frown among the entire group of them. Even Juice who was sporting a new black eye from Tig for his comment was grinning ear to ear as the food was served and everyone sat to eat.

* * *

><p>"Ahh shit," Chibs smacked his hand on the table. "Aye, I remember that. She was huge, I mean huge. Shite, Bobby, I love you but sometimes you scare me."<p>

The table erupted in hysterics, the topic of conversation flying completely over the children's heads. They were all shocked to see Clay when arriving but it wore off and the group saw nothing but love between him and Gemma and everyone else. No one knew the reason the two split and no one knew they'd reconciled and had been spending time together. The windowpane rattled loudly as a heavy hand knocked on the back door. At first, Clay had moved to answer but stopped as Chibs stood to do his duty as Sergeant.

"Jackie," Chibs walked back in quickly with a dark look. "You've got a visitor." Trammel walked in behind him and the room knew it was bad. The only time they spoke or worked with him was when they had problems in Oakland, which was Niner territory.

"Come on." Mae began to rush Ellie and Kenny out into the other room, they were old enough to understand. "We'll finish dinner and watch some TV, yeah?"

"We'll come too." Tara added, thankful for the chance, as she helped Abel out of his booster seat and Amelia picked up Thomas.

Jax waited until the women, including Gemma, were clear of the room before even looking at Trammel. "I never want to see you."

"You really don't want to see me now." He leaned on the back of Gemma's empty chair. "Niner delivery got ambushed; they lost two guys, your prospect is dead and that skinny blond is unconscious in Highland General's ER."

"Jesus Christ." Jax's head fell and the club all had similar immediate reactions. "I need my guy back in Charming, it's safer here."

"LaRoy ain't concerned with your guy." Trammel said hesitantly. "He's concerned with who killed his men but left those guns."

"They didn't take the guns?" Tig asked, astounded by the revelation.

Trammel shook his head, his chin jutting out as he looked at the men assembled. No one was missing. "Not one. Ran your guys off the road, shot the lead SUV up and sped away without stopping.

"Yeah, they don't want a fight." Chibs said in a mocking tone. "They want a goddamn war."

"Between us and everyone else." Bobby said sagely.

"Jax, LaRoy is pissed. Pope will be when he finds out. You need to clean this up. He's got no doubts this was tied into all the nasty shit you got going on."

Standing, Jax motioned for Trammel to follow him out. Once they were gone the group shared a dark look. "This is bad."

"It's only gonna get worse." Kozik said, pushing his chair away from the table. "I picked a hell of a time to transfer."

"Shit, it's best time, we need you." Happy grumbled. "We need to find these assholes and hurt them, a lot."

"Someone needs to sit with Sack till we can get him back here." Opie finally jumped into his role as VP. "They didn't want the guns they wanted blood."

"I'll go." Rat offered. "It was supposed to be me on that run but Phil went. I missed the last party; he said it was only fair."

"Phil was a good one." Clay said, leaning back in his chair to try and glance into the other room at Jax and Trammel. "You should bury him with a full patch, if Prez agrees." He said to Opie who nodded in full agreement.

"Jesus," Opie knew Mae would be a mess even if the disastrous news hadn't ruined their plans to announce. "Well, just so you guys know, Mae's pregnant. We were gonna tell you assholes, but looks like it'll be a working night after all."

They congratulated him, subdued but happy nonetheless. "When she says it just act really excited." He added as he stood to have the women and children join them again.

They did, not only because they'd been ordered to, but for Mae's sake and their own as well.

It was the bit of levity they needed to pull them out of the wide range of negative emotions clouding their minds. Before they left the club hugged and congratulated Mae as if they hadn't known and for once the affection was appreciated.


	19. Chapter 19

**Love and gratitude, you guys! Xoxo**

* * *

><p>"Hey you." Mae smiled sweetly as Half-Sack opened his eyes. She was already texting Jax and Opie to tell them he had finally woken up. Rat paced the front door on guard, the hospital refused to move Kip until he was awake.<p>

He blinked a few times, his face twisted as he focused on the pain. "Shit."

"Yeah," she laughed. "You'll be okay. You're still in Oakland, but Rat is watching over you."

"What are you doing here?" He asked, grimacing as he tried to sit up.

Mae shrugged. "I felt bad that you were here alone; it's not like we haven't been forced together for weeks before. I guess I have a fondness for you, Kipper."

Laughing he nodded; at the time babysitting Mae was a chore but she was easier to get along with than Gemma and much less frightening. "Thanks." He uttered and gratefully accepted the water she offered. "How longs it been?"

That was not a question she wanted to answer for him but it seemed cruel not to. Pursing her lips, she took a long, deep breath. "It's been about ten days."

"What?" Despite the pain, Half-Sack was immediately trying to crawl out of bed only stopped by Rat as he used a strong arm to force him back into his previous supine position.

"Chill man," Rat said calmly. "Jax and Ope are coming. It's all good."

Giving him a moment to wrap his hazy brain around the information, Mae put her hand on his shoulder and stroked up and down his arm. "Do you remember anything?"

"SUV came from behind," he squinted as he spoke trying to remember more. "They ran me down into the ravine and that's it, just black after that. Shit, is Phil okay?"

Mae shook her head. "No, he's not. Niners lost two guys too."

"Goddamn it. They came out of nowhere Mae, just out of thin fucking air. What's going on? Do they know anything?"

"No. They wanted to wait till you woke up to talk to LaRoy, but he's been pretty wild."

"Don't blame em'; LaRoy or the guys for wanting to wait. I don't remember shit though." He shifted around, making little groans and growls with each move. "So I can't help any."

That was what they were afraid of happening. "They should be here soon. I think they were at the scene looking around again. I have to get to work though. Rest and heal, Kip."

Mae winked at Rat as she left and hopped back into her car. Her fingers gripped the wheel tight as a rush of dread hit her, things were only getting worse. Just as she pulled out of the parking garage, Jax and Opie spun in. They nodded as she waved, but neither party had time to stop.

* * *

><p>"<em>Does she trust you<em>?" Gemma asked as she tapped the end of her cigarette on the blown glass ashtray on Nero's side table. "_I mean really trust you_."

Picking at a thread poking out of her blouse Mae could feel her blood pressure rising. "I guess. I think it's more that she doesn't trust I won't give too much to Opie and have him blow her cover."

With an evil smile, Gemma already knew she had an almost perfect plan. All it really needed was for Wendy to trust Mae completely. "_Get to work_." She said harsh and demanding. "_Make her trust you, Mae. We need that or this falls to shit and you're the one who has to deal with Jax and Tara_."

"Gem, I want to fix my screw up but this doesn't feel right."

"_What, do _y_ou want to go to Jax now? The club just buried a prospect and he's meeting with LaRoy today. Mae, do you really think he has time to clean up your mess right now? They don't pick us for our looks, sweetheart, they pick us because we can handle our shit no matter how uncomfortable it makes us feel. You gotta shelve your junkie guilt and protect that little boy from that filthy woman_." Knowing exactly the right vocabulary that would crawl into Mae's brain and bubble up every type of guilt she worked so hard to make peace with in her own way.

"Yeah," Mae dropped her pen on her desk. "Yeah, you're right." They ended the call, but it was only a few seconds before there was a knock on her office door. "Come in."

"Mae," her supervisor came in and sat right down. "Do you have a minute?" She nodded, distracted, and closed her laptop. "I just wanted to discuss your move to light duty and your thoughts on maternity leave."

That brought a smile to her, as of late, perpetually sour face. "I really hope it's not a problem, but I want to take everything I can, paid and unpaid FMLA time."

"I can't say I'm surprised." Unexpectedly he was smiling; she assumed he'd be annoyed as a boss but clearly he was not. "You'll be back right? We need motivated therapists like you."

Mae loved the compliment, but it wasn't the best time to hear it. "Oh, I'll be back," that was a lie. She and Opie talked about it frequently and he wanted her home as a full time stay at home mom, but she didn't want to tell her boss yet, just in case. Then again, he also wanted even more kids after this one and that she wasn't sure about. "And about light duty, right now I think I'm okay. I only have a few steadies and I feel really good."

"You just tell me you're ready to switch; I'm sure your husband would rather it sooner than later."

"He'd rather I was barefoot in the kitchen, actually. Not so much misogynistic, just old fashioned really. He thinks it's dangerous here."

"Mae, it is dangerous here."

"Guess I like to live on the wild side."

He laughed and excused himself leaving Mae alone with her very disturbing and loud thoughts. If it wasn't Wendy it was something with the club and even just talking about her personal life with outsiders practically made her skin itch.

"Something has to give, goddamn it." She mumbled, tapping Wendy's number in her phone. "This shit isn't ending fast enough." Before she spoke to herself again Wendy answered the call.

"_Hey_."

"Hey, so I was wondering if you wanted to grab lunch this weekend?"

"_Yeah_," Wendy was checking her emails. "_Hey so that woman, Kaitlin Becker the psychologist, she's been hard to get in touch with_."

Mae rolled her eyes, she'd called Kaitlin and told her to drag her feet with the evaluation while she checked a few red flags.

"Jesus, yeah she's insanely busy. I talked with her the other day. She said she'd be emailing you this week."

"_I read that statement, it's great. Thank you._"

"Yep," it wouldn't be used though. Mae already knew this would never get to trial and she'd take that statement back and burn it to nothing. "So lunch? Why don't you come down to Charming?"

Wendy chuckled nervously. "_I don't know if I can take the drive actually_."

"Okay," she said quickly. "I'll come to you. We'll talk time tomorrow at the meeting."

Dropping her phone down she swallowed the urge to vomit, the bile stinging as it crawled up her throat. Opie promised it would get better, he swore it would and Mae just had to focus on that. He always kept his word.

* * *

><p>"Hey man." Jax greeted Rat warmly, the only remaining prospect, and peeked into Half-Sack's room. "How's he?"<p>

Rat shook his head; it was the worst possible outcome to the long wait. "Physically, he's fine. Mae was here when he woke up, think a friendly face helped."

"Yeah we saw her." Opie twirled his hair up into a bun. "What's he saying?"

"Nothing, he said he doesn't remember shit."

Opie and Rat looked at Jax, his troubled eyes only growing darker and more conflicted. Never in his years as a fully patched member had Jax felt dread and hopelessness of the magnitude he did right then. Things were slowly falling apart an the harder he tried to salvage these relationships the more they fractured. Combing his hair back with his fingers, he rolled his shoulders as if to ease the weight he carried, before nodding for Opie to follow him into the hospital room.

"My brother." Jax grinned as he gave Half-Sack a hug, much gentler than he would usually, and sat in the visitor's chair while Opie hovered behind him. "How are you doing?"

Kip shrugged. "Ten days man, that shit is crazy. What's going on with the Niners?" Keeping his eyes on Jax, Kip could still see the way Opie paced, his hands gripping either side of his cut and fingering the snaps.

"Not happy," Opie growled. "They think it's on us; we have a target on our backs and everyone knows it."

"Gave us two weeks to deal with the situation and if we don't, we lose the Niner order." Looking down his nose at Kip, Jax could see the young man knew nothing just like Rat had said. "You can't help us out with that now can you?"

"I'm sorry, Prez." Kip hung his head in shame. "I was bringing up the rear, they got me first."

Jax was monumentally disappointed but hid it as best he could. He didn't speak and after two long minutes of silence, Opie spoke up. "It's fine, brother. We're just glad you're okay."

"We'll get you back in Charming as soon as this shitty hospital clears it."

"Just don't leave me alone here, guys. If the Niners are pissed I don't want to be in Oakland any longer than I have to, alright?"

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry," LaRoy said with no amusement in his voice now. "Between the suspiciously short sentence, a drive by in your hood and this, I think we might have to have another look at our business with you."<p>

"What?" Jax was dumbfounded, he truly believed it would all magically work out like everything else. "We got lucky with that shit in Sacramento, there was nothing shady about it and that shoot out's been handled, that doesn't concern you."

"It doesn't?" LaRoy asked; surprised Jax would actually try to pull that. "Charming is supposed to be protected. Someone hit a member's home in your hood, your clubhouse and now our delivery; you think we can ignore that? I lost two men and all I got to blame is you as the target. This is dangerous for all of us. I like you Jax, I do, but this ain't personal. I need to protect my shit."

"What about our deal?" Opie interrupted, less concerned about the gun business than he was about the agreement he had with Pope to protect Mae. "That wasn't club business, man, that was between us. I need to know a target won't land on her back now."

"I have to cut all ties," LaRoy said sadly. "This reflects on all of us. Clean up your shit Teller and maybe we can do business again."

As Opie shook behind him with rage, Jax tried to patch whatever he could. "Where you going to get your guns at? Do you really want to be unprotected?"

"You think you're the only white boys selling? It's a slim market, but it's there. SAMCRO was the best; you build that up again and I'll be back. Meantime, we both work on finding who hit that run. I want that leveled, but what you all do to fix your growing problem is on you."

LaRoy walked away without shaking Jax's or Opie's hand. His shoulders were slumped, but the fact he wasn't overly thrilled didn't do much for Jax. They'd just lost a third of their gun business, a huge chunk of money, and an even bigger piece of respect and a solid partnership.

* * *

><p>Juice was splayed out in his bed, hands behind his head as Amelia strolled in from the powder room with a goofy grin playing on her lips. His eyes roamed over her as she knelt on the side of the mattress.<p>

"Hey."

"That one of mine?" He tugged at the sleeve of the ratty tee she wore, a faded reaper blazon on the front. "I don't think it is, none of mine are that old."

"It's not." She said guiltily. "It's actually Jax's. I stole it before my dad sent me away. The club felt like a dream when I was gone. I slept in this all the time; it made me feel at home. Therapists didn't like it, reaper and all."

It had been a long while since they had a chance to reconnect. Between her post Tacoma meltdown and his frantic week and a half with the club, they were basically living their relationship through texts and calls. This was the first time they were alone in almost two weeks. He'd been meaning to sit her down, talk to her about Tig, but there was just no time. He laid there, looking her over and although he knew the moment was almost too perfect to destroy he had to; the issue would only reemerge.

"You look good." Shyly she giggled at the compliment. Fiddling with her messy ponytail, Amelia pulled the band and let her curls cascade down her back. Reaching up he flung her hair around and laughed. "I almost wondered if your hair was still red. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"Reminds me of a song." Her eyes glittered as she reached for her iPod and skimmed the long list to find one of her favorite Dylan songs.

"Everything reminds you of a song."

"It's all I had for a long time. I just threw myself into music, I lived in it. Tangled Up In Blue." She said as the music started.

Reaching up Juice pulled her to him and kissed her. Gently sucking on her lower lip as he gazed at her. "I love you," he said earnestly. "I will never hurt you. Promise me, Meels, promise me you'll never do anything to hurt me."

"Juicy," she pulled away from him, but remained kneeling. "I love you too and I will never hurt you, not again. This is it, we're solid and nothing's gonna mess with that."

"I'm black." He blurted out quietly, terrified of her reaction. The secret weighed on him and it seemed like the best way to talk to her about Tig. Suddenly, despite her promise, he was unsure about trusting her with such a gigantic secret. "I never met my dad, but he's black."

She grinned wickedly and nodded. "I'm sleeping with a black man? That explains it, then." She went to grab at his crotch, but stopped when he didn't laugh at her joke. Amelia sat back on her feet. "What is it?" The realization crashed over her. "Shit. Does the club know?"

He shook his head. "No. I mean, I don't know him, I never identified as black. I was raised by my mom and grandmom, the Puerto Rican side. It wasn't until I was already prospecting that I ever heard of the bylaw. I was a coward and I never said anything."

"Jesus, JC." It was a potentially shattering piece of information and the amount of trust it took for him to admit was not lost on Amelia. "I won't say anything." She said assuredly. "But don't you get any attacks of conscience. My dad would do anything he could to keep us apart. The club, they'll strip your patch and kick you outta town."

"Meels, they'll kill me." He said sadly but with no doubt; Juice knew what he did by not telling them and by admitting his secret to a member's scarily committed daughter. "You and I both know that."

"No, they won't." With force she dropped down and draped herself over his chest burying her face in his neck. Juice smiled wistfully as he stroked her hair. "So Des told you?" She sniffled, the words muffled by his neck. "That's why you told me about your dad?"

"I would have told you anyway, but that's why I told you now." He gingerly lifted her chin and forced her eyes to lock with his. "I didn't want to wait to tell you I knew. By now you probably figured she didn't say anything, but I just didn't have the time with the Niner shit and the break-ins."

"If he finds out, JC." She began to break down. "He'll be free of the crazy. Shit, everything I ever thought about myself, my family, my stupid SAMCRO blood, it's all a big fucking lie."

Juice let her ramble on and get everything that had been building since Desiree broke her news off her chest. "Princess," he pet her cheek. "When I patched, Jax told me family, blood, hometown, all that shit moves back a row cause the club is my family now. You may not wear a cut but baby, you're SAMCRO, you're a part of this, you're family. Blood don't mean shit."

"But we're not," she said. "If they found out you know everything would change, JC." Clasping his hand tight and shook her head. "Nothing takes a backseat to you, this," she pressed her hand and his to her chest then to his. "This is the only truth I have. You know everything now and I do too."

"We're like our own little club now, huh?" He kissed her knuckles.

"Yeah, we are." Looking at him through her lashes she shook her head. "If she told you, I don't want to know. Tig is my dad, okay?"

"Okay, Miss Trager. Sounds good to me."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Just so you guys know the next few chapters will each be a few weeks apart in Charming time. If one happens to be a different length of time, short or longer, I will make a note of it. I just wanted to let you know, time is moving faster now! Xoxo Thanks for the support.**

* * *

><p>"Guys, this has been hands down, one of the safest and most lucrative times in SAMCRO's history." Jax was grinning obnoxiously as he stared directly down the table at Clay. Everything he said couldn't be done was coming together quickly and profitably. "We're raking in money through Cara Cara, and once the ink dries on the deal with Nero that extra income covers what we lost through the Niners. I know you all know this, but I just had to say how proud I am of all of you. Taking the change in stride is hard, but this is all legitimate business. Even the old ladies are having a hard time with the constant flow of naked talent roaming around, but somehow you all are handling the change well."<p>

The men laughed heartily, some more than others, and Chibs drummed out a random beat on the table. "It's beautiful, Jackie, it's a beautiful thing."

"The girls got what they wanted, we're moving clean." Bobby joked. "And we get a nice show while we're out of it."

"I know I don't mind it," Tig added, "I love it."

"And what about the break-ins?" Clay said somberly and effectively ruining the levity. "We still haven't found who attacked Floyd, the crow eater and Juice; we ain't got shit of who tore up your place. That just takes a backseat to the cash?"

Jax's eyes darted to Clay. "No it doesn't, but when we have no leads I can't just halt all business. Whoever made those moves will be dealt with, don't think I forgot."

"LaRoy make any headway with the hijacking?"

"Not that he's said to us," Juice answered. "Whoever it was is a damn ghost, just gone."

"That's why we keep our eyes open. It's stopped; if and when it ramps back up, we'll be ready. I haven't forgotten, but there's other shit to handle." Jax had been obsessive in his search for Piney's real killer that he hadn't given any thought to who was terrorizing town; he left that to his VP and Sergeant.

"I'm with Prez," Kozik said confidently. "We can't just sit here twiddling our thumbs."

"That's what they wanted." Happy growled from the back. "To scare us."

"Well we don't scare." Opie added quietly. "Our families are safe and business is great; they probably gave up. We'll find them eventually."

"I just don't know what the town is thinking." Kozik mentioned and Clay couldn't have been happier. It was the point he was about to make, but someone other than himself made it more valid.

Chibs' eyebrows furrowed as he turned his attention down the table. "Charming is fine. As long as there are no dead bodies or innocent blood, they just love us. My dick is proof."

"No one wants to her about your dick." Jax said with a grin. "They know how it works, the like may come and go but Charming always loves us."

Slipping his glasses down his nose, Bobby turned the conversation back to business. "If we are really going legitimate what's Galindo's reaction?"

Jax pursed his lips and nodded, it wasn't a topic he was going to mention himself, but he was glad someone brought it up. "Romeo wants a formal Irish introduction; he wants to bypass us and buy directly from the Irish."

"When did this happen?" Tig asked quickly.

"Months ago," Jax answered truthfully. "He mentioned it when we first got out of Sacramento. Then Galen and I had a rough patch, shit with the drive-by, things got out of hand and it was put on the back burner."

"And now we're moving it up." Chibs said with a cheesy grin, thrilled at the idea of not having to kiss Irish ass for much longer.

"Almost half our income is cartel related." Half-Sack added. "That's even with porn and Diosa, if that goes through."

Jax nodded. "I get that; we gotta be ready for the switch. It still leaves us with muling, but I have a feeling Galindo wants bigger and better things, like a direct connect to the IRA. Galen and those pricks won't just jump on it, but that buys us at least a few weeks of extra cash."

"Romeo offered a cut too," Juice added. "Like a finder's fee."

"Exactly," Jax grinned. "He offered us our usual cut for a limited time so the hit isn't too hard. He gets how this business works so he wants it to be smooth."

"So we'd just be left with pussy?" Happy asked, almost disappointed. Without guns or drugs it seemed as though his specialty, which he enjoyed thoroughly, would no longer be necessary.

"There are plenty of other things we can dive into." Jax said. "And we'll still need to muscle and keep up rep since Diosa gets its fair share of shit from Johns." No one sounded opposed so Jax took it to a vote immediately when the reaction was positive; it passed easily. It was dependent on the King's agreement, but Jax wanted it voted and done on their end before Clay could poison any member. "This doesn't change us; it changes the risk we're taking. We all got families to keep safe."

Clay growled inwardly to himself every time the women or children were mentioned, especially at the table. He didn't lay any blame on himself, he blamed Amelia, Tara and Mae for twisting his club's minds and being involved in the change of leadership.

"And ourselves," Opie added. "None of us want to get locked up."

"You just don't want to hear your women bitching about raising them kids alone." Chibs joked.

Jax laughed, although there was more truth in the words than jest. "All Tara knows is she doesn't want to be raising my boys with Gemma."

"You blame her?" Bobby asked.

"Gemma is scary as shit." Half-Sack said at full volume knowing he wasn't the only one to feel that way.

"Yeah," Tig nodded. "I don't blame Tara."

"Alright." Clay interrupted, annoyed. "Is this done?"

"Yeah," Jax sneered. "I want you and Chibs to go meet with Galen, feel him out. I want to bring this little merger to him at our next meeting, but I don't want to go in blind. I want to know where he's at. Take Juice too," he added as Opie laid heavy eyes on him.

"I can do that, Prez." Clay said impatiently waiting for the gavel to come down and end church.

"Alright boys, I'll see you out there."

* * *

><p>Over coffee Gemma outlined the plan she had concocted, purposely switching out some major details for less brutal ones to keep Mae onboard. She could see how upsetting the words were, even adjusted, but Gemma had been molding Mae. She was using her good nature and intense love for Opie and in turn the club, against her. Gently placing her mug of decaffeinated tea down on the table, Mae shook her head.<p>

"Darby won't help. Opie put word out not to sell to me. Besides, I'm pregnant Gem no one is going to sell me drugs no matter what Opie said." Those were true reasons, but Mae's biggest objection was simply the fact that not only did she not want to see or possess heroin even for a second, she didn't want go through with Gemma's scheme.

Disbelieving, Gemma turned her body and crossed her legs. "If he won't, someone will. Maybe the dealer who sold to Wendy when she was pregnant with Abel?"

"I have connections." She said embarrassedly.

"That really the reason or are you scared you won't make it back here?"

"I'm not going to use, Gem." Mae snapped. "Do I want to be in a position where I could? Hell no, but I trust myself."

"Do you have an issue with this?" She asked skeptically. "Putting your little NA camaraderie aside, you have to know this is the best plan."

"She won't find it first, will she?" Mae leaned forward, elbows on the table with her hands folded under her chin. "I don't want her to see it and shoot up right then and there before Trammel can pull her over. I can't put her in that same position I don't want to put myself in."

With a warm smile, Gemma pulled Mae's hands to the table and held them. "Baby, I know. I promise Wendy won't find it before Trammel can arrest her. A possession charge ruins her case and she will know not to screw with the Tellers, or you, ever again. She brought this on, she lied to you, used you and put you and that baby you're carrying at risk. Playing dirty was her call, you're just answering back."

Mae instantly pulled her hands away and pressed them against her swollen belly. "Yeah, it's not the arrest, it's just…"

"The drugs themselves, it's low I know. So is painting my son to be an abusive man and trying to steal Abel from loving parents who didn't pump crank into their veins while pregnant. You haven't, you don't want to and you're both suffering from the same addiction. If you can, she could have; she just didn't care." Mae knew addiction didn't work like that, but she was caught up in Gemma's speech. "She doesn't deserve him; you're a good mother who is doing right by her baby, protecting him."

"Her," Mae corrected. "We're keeping it a secret, but we're having a girl."

Gemma kept her hate for baby girls to herself and gave Mae a sunny smile. "That's wonderful."

"This is the right thing, right?" Mae blinked up at Gemma and felt a warm, loving feeling. Just as Piney had been a surrogate father, Gemma was suddenly becoming a surrogate mother. Although Piney's feelings for Mae were true, it was the manipulation and mind games fostered that love and adoration for Gemma. "It doesn't feel right but nothing does at first, not here at least."

"Our lives aren't right and wrong; we live in constant grays, Mae. You need to see that, understand the things Tara doesn't yet. You two are important, President and VP need women like you two. She's just stubborn, but one day you girls will have to follow in my shoes." It almost made Gemma sick to say, but she could see how much it affected Mae and that was necessary. "Strong old ladies can make a club."

Mae smiled at that and nodded thinking that was exactly what Opie needed. It still didn't make her actions feel any less than completely wrong, but it made them easier to have to do.

"Yeah. I'm heading over to TM now, you coming?" Gemma took Mae's mug and her own to the sink as she shook her head. "Alright, well I'll see you later. Thank you, Gem." Mae said by the kitchen door. "I love you, I couldn't do this whole old lady thing without you."

"I love you too." Gemma meant that completely, but she knew it could change the moment Mae was no longer the helpful little puppy she was right then. For now though, she was doing as told and made Opie, a man Gemma considered an adopted son, happy so Mae was most certainly in her favor.

* * *

><p>"You've got to be kidding me." Mae groaned as she watched the train of half-naked porn stars watching Tig and Happy boxing outside the clubhouse. There was no regret, Mae was even proud of her ever-growing stomach, but she wondered what those women, mainly Lyla, would think or say. She got out of her car slowly and immediately waved Half-Sack toward her; she felt better having someone with her and not drooling over the others.<p>

"Wow," his eyes grew wide. "You really uhh, you know," he pointed to her stomach, "Since I last saw you."

"I popped, yeah. Opie here?"

"Garage," Kip pointed off behind her.

"Wow, he's not doing something dangerous?"

"You haven't seen him with a crowbar, so yeah, he's doing something potentially dangerous."

She laughed and winked at him as she turned and headed off toward TM. At least she didn't have to walk past the skinny, svelte women. As Clay and Chibs headed out of the office, they smiled at Mae and she forced one back for them. Chibs was sweet, but it was Clay whom she couldn't stand.

"Looking for Ope?" Chibs asked, tossing away his lit cigarette and blowing the smoke up over her head. It wasn't only common sense and courtesy, but they'd all gotten the speech about smoking around her; as Opie was obsessive about her safety.

"Garage, I know, thanks."

As she waved in to Amelia, she could see the woman's face light up, Juice's too actually. "Look at you. I love it." She said as she gently touched Mae's belly. Opie stepped in the office from the bays and pressed a kiss to the top of Mae's head.

"Hey, back off" Amelia sneered playfully. "She's my preggo. I'm not having babies so I want to spoil and love the ones I can, Abel, Thomas and this little one."

"You say that now Meels, but just wait till you get married. I didn't want them either till I met Ope."

"Me?" Amelia laughed. "No, I'm never getting married again, no thank you. I don't need a ring and paperwork; the first one left a really bad taste in my mouth. No offense, I wanted it before but not now."

Proposing hadn't been a thought in his mind at all, marriage hadn't even occurred to Juice, but hearing her say that was surprisingly bothersome. Sure, he understood but he had always wanted to have a family and being around the club only made that feeling stronger. They all had kids, most of them anyway, and the ones that didn't still loved children; even Happy enjoyed pushing Abel on the swings from time to time. They were family men all around which is why they latched on to the club.

"Never say never." Juice said quickly, his heart only falling further when Amelia laughed at him too.

"You can try all you want to change my mind, JC, but don't get your hopes up." Mae pushed Opie back into the bays as Juice and Amelia turned to have a more private conversation. "Doesn't change anything though, baby, I still want to be with you, no one else ever."

"Fuckin' better." He pushed it away, not allowing something so far in the future ruin the solid footing they'd finally found. He was happy just to be with her. "I gotta go though. I'll see you tonight."

"My place or yours?" She followed him out to the parking lot and toward his bike.

"We'll see how the day goes." He said slipping his sunglasses on. Amelia stood in front of his bike, a leg on either side of his front tire. "I'm gonna run you down." He joked.

"Yeah, I'd like to see that." She smirked and kissed him over the handlebars.

"I would too." Clay added with a dark smile before pulling out ahead of them.

Juice kept a stone expression while Amelia scowled, but Chibs shook his head and winked at her. "We're late and he's not looking forward to this, don't worry love."

She nodded, even if she didn't really feel completely comfortable around Clay, Amelia never in her life thought he'd hurt her. Juice on the other hand knew he would and had. He knew under the circumstances he had to run that little joke by Jax and Opie.

"I really gotta go, Princess." Juice shouted over the roar of Chibs engine. She stepped away and watched him roll out after the others.

Mae had watched the entire scene with a nostalgic smile. "Were we ever like that?"

"No," Opie grunted as he began working again. "Even when I was good with the club, you didn't spend time here a lot and I'd rather be nailing you at home than shitty PDA here."

"You're a pig," she snapped jokingly. "I gotta go."

"Mae, when are you moving outta the prison and into the offices?"

"Soon." She said petulantly. "I promise in a few weeks I'll be out. I just have one more prisoner I want to finish with."

Opie hated it, but things had been smooth. Even LaRoy had told him while officially the deal was off, his guys wouldn't mind keeping an eye on her. In order to get her out of the actual prison he'd need to tell her about buying protection and he didn't want to have to explain that. Jax agreed that while he didn't understand why, he knew Mae would be livid and Tara too if in that same position. Probably the secrets they figured but it seemed ridiculous to them.

"You said before once I knocked you up you'd quit."

"I just want to wrap some things up. I feel bad just abandoning them. I know you think they don't care, but I think they do."

"Fine." He growled. "Just be safe."

"We will be," she pressed a hand to her stomach. "Me and your daughter."

"I refuse to believe it till she _or_ he is born. I'm telling you Mae, it's a boy. I can feel it." He was scared for either, but to Opie a little girl was much more vulnerable for the entirety of her life that he hoped for another son. He worried enough without that added stress.

Rolling her eyes, she nodded and kissed him goodbye before heading off to work.

* * *

><p>"Filip, I have a little surprise for you." Galen didn't smile or smirk as he pointed to the waiting car. "Someone has come for a visit." The window rolled down to reveal Fiona and Kerrianne in the backseat and Chibs bolted to the vehicle without a second thought. "The little brown one?"<p>

"Location changed, he was behind and the cell service in these mountains is shit." Clay shrugged and took a few more steps away from the happy Telford family reunion. "We have some time. She won't say anything?"

"Fiona knows if she does Jimmy hears about this and that ends badly for her and Chibs. Our women are different from yours, they listen. So, how's the transition?"

"It backfired." He snarled. "That little prick is making money for the club hand over fist. I thought losing black would do it, so I laid off any civilians getting hurt, but I think this shit has to start again."

"We seemed to have pushed them all closer, aye?"

"Looks like it. I need more shit in Charming, Galen." Clay was a heartless monster, but when it came to Gemma and his town, he actually truly cared. "I have some personal shit to handle too, I want my seat back and I want those fuckers who put me here, made me go so far, to pay for this shit."

"First you wanted to own the gun trade in Cali, that's why we started this, but I'm more comfortable with you as President and SAMCRO running my guns." Galen grinned wickedly. "I'd love to help set up the prince. When the club finds out he set up the hijack, you'll be back at the head in no time."

"No," Clay said coldly. "I want to hurt them too, the three of them, but I don't want more patched blood. That prospect was enough for me, I don't do that."

Galen knew Clay blamed the women for his downfall, but he also knew Clay was unbalanced. That proved profitable for him, so he happily went along with it. "And the way we hurt them and not your club?" He knew the answer already, but everything was a game to the Irish.

Before Clay could answer, Juice roared up the dusty path, tremendously livid. "All three of them but his girl, the Trager red head, I have something very special planned for her."

"I'm sure you do." Galen chuckled darkly as Juice came toward them.

"Really? You want to play these games?" Clay knew Juice was privy to his previous failed plan with Amelia and part of the secret coup so he put on an apologetic face.

"I text you the new location."

"Yeah, when? I just got it."

"It's the mountains." Clay said, waving his hand around. "Chibs is here." Pointing off to the car where he was with Fiona and their daughter. "It's fine. We're just catching up." Knowing Jax needed Galen calm, Juice nodded and shelved his rage for now. Clay turned back to Galen. "So we'll set the meet for a few weeks, you and Jax can talk, I'll still be there."

"Call me with the details." Galen said as he turned back away and snapped at one of his guards to remove Chibs from the car.

"Fuck off." Chibs shouted as he was roughly thrown to the ground. "I was leaving."

"Aye, sure you were." Galen nodded as he took the seat Chibs had just been torn away from. "Maybe if you're a good boy you can see them again."

Chibs sighed deeply as they drove off, his head in his hands as Juice tried to give him a few supportive words, but nothing worked.

"Stupid fucking shite." He kicked some dirt up before mounting his bike. "Let's go, I'm sick with this."


	21. Chapter 21

"You weren't home when it happened?"

Sheriff Roosevelt asked as he scribbled some notes on his small pad of paper. Gemma shook her head, her eyes swimming over the damage to her kitchen. It wasn't much, not nearly as drastic as Juice's or even Floyd's, but it was enough to upset her.

"I was with a friend."

"And that friend is?"

"I don't know why you're here." She asked, taking her attention from the destruction. "My neighbor called for a disturbance, not me. I wouldn't have filed a report."

He smiled, knowing the reason behind her refusal to cooperate. "Yes, they called during the break-in and my officers managed to save you a lot of trouble, didn't they? I heard one of the club members had their place ripped up. Miss Duncan, you know her I'm sure, her home was ten times worse than yours is. You're lucky someone called."

Gemma's eyebrows arched high and she huffed. "I am so thankful, but I don't know anything. I haven't heard of one of the guy's getting broken into either. The robberies are being reported and they aren't tied to the club, so please drop that assumption."

"I'm sure they are far removed from the Sons of Anarchy." Flipping the book shut he slipped it back into his breast pocket. "Well, if you happen to think of anything, please let me know."

"Of course." She gave him an overly bright smile and led him to the door. "Shit." She hissed when she was finally alone.

* * *

><p>"Mrs. Winston, quite frankly I'm concerned. Your blood pressure is rising steadily at each appointment, but there's been no protein in your urine until this week. Is there anything going on at home? Preeclampsia isn't something you can cause, but any stress at home can exacerbate it."<p>

Her shoulders slumped as she looked at the genial older man who had helped her through every difficult part of the pregnancy. "The last few weeks have been, strange I guess."

"Is it your husband? If you don't mind me saying when you were here for the anatomy scan he seemed distressed."

That actually made Mae smile; generally, people thought he was angry or upset. "Actually he was really happy that day; he's just quiet and has a perpetual sour face. He's not abusive or anything at all, if that's what you're getting at. It's just the kids and work, things are insane." He didn't smile as she figured he would. "You know I've been very careful doctor. I've tried to de-stress and unwind, even yoga and meditation. I just, I have a lot going on for the next few days, but after this week I'm done. No stress, no work, nothing."

"You have to, you really need to. If this is preeclampsia, it can be extremely dangerous. I want you in tomorrow afternoon for another urine test and we'll check your blood pressure while you're here. I'll be monitoring you closely to see if this is preeclampsia or you're just over doing it."

Mae suffered through the rest of the appointment; the doctor only making her more stressed with talk of seizures and preterm labor. She scanned the paper work on warning signs and dangers; swelling, migraines, sudden nausea or vomiting which only prompted more stress. She took a few minutes in her car, clenching her fingers around the steering wheel and relaxing them while taking long, deep breaths.

"You can do this." She repeated to herself obsessively as she drove from her doctor's office toward Ernest Darby's home. It was one of the last places she wanted to be, but Gemma's words played on a loop in her head pushing her forward. The woman had picked the perfect vocabulary to strike veiled fear of Jax's reaction and play on her need for her family and intense love for Opie.

She knocked and heard Darby groan as he looked out the peephole. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you, please. I'm not looking to get high, I swear."

"You alone? Is anyone out? If your old man sees you here he'll kill me, Mae, I believe that."

She looked around the cul-de-sac and back at the door. "No one is out, I didn't bring anyone. Come on, just let me in."

He finally opened the door and Mae quickly made her way in. The house was dank and messy. She looked around, but kept still in the entryway. "Hey."

"Jesus, you're knocked up."

"Keen eye." She tried to relax and lighten the mood. "I'm actually here for Gemma."

"The beautiful queen of bikers, what does she want?"

"A balloon, just one hit. We'll pay anything and I swear on my life it's not for me. I don't have any issue with you, at all. You probably saved my life and you tried to fix shit with Weston and Zobelle. I know what happened wasn't your fault so actually I owe you, this isn't some trick."

"No." Cold and quick he answered and pointed toward the door.

She didn't move. Mae wasn't scared of Darby; she knew the kind of man he was and hurting a pregnant woman wasn't something he'd do. Even if he would, knowing Opie would easily snap him in two would keep her safe.

"Please. I'm trying to fix something and I need a reason to get someone locked up. All I need is an arrest so it's gotta be small. I need anonymity just as much as you with this, so it's our secret."

"No." He said again. "No way."

"Jesus Christ, then who will sell it to me?"

"No one."

"This is bullshit! Dealers sold to SAMCRO girls before, plenty of them." That was a bit of an exaggeration, but Darby didn't mention it.

"And that got my guy torn apart. Besides, your old man beat some dealer last year and got him killed. No one's fucking with you or the other females in Charming."

Mae felt her eyes start to fill she needed this. "Darby, please. I need your help to get this asshole out of my life and this is the only way to do it. I won't tell anyone I got it from you, I swear."

"Not here." He groaned, giving in to her pleasing tone. "I'll send one of my guys to meet you by the mill. You remember the spot?"

"Oh yeah," she groaned, "I remember. When?"

"Go now, I'll call him. You keep this between us, I mean it."

She smiled and nodded assuredly. "I promise it's our secret, Darby. Thank you, really. I'm eternally grateful, Gem too."

"Gemma is never grateful, but I'll remember that."

* * *

><p>"Mom, shut up!" Amelia snapped as she slammed both office doors with her cell wedged between her shoulder and ear. "You need to keep your damn mouth shut."<p>

For weeks, as soon as she saw Desiree's name on her caller ID Amelia would ignore it, but something possessed her right then to answer. Most likely it was Juice's eyes willing her to actually talk to her mother. The guilt was weighing on her and she was desperate for forgiveness or at the very least a few words from her daughter.

_"I didn't want to hurt you. I don't think I realized the impact. If I could go back and tell the truth I would_."

Amelia huffed loudly, Clay's eyes lingering in her from the open jalousies behind her. "There's no changing the fact you were a whore." There was a tiny gasp on the other end and Amelia actually felt regret for her harsh, hurtful choice of words. She lowered her voice. "Look, I love him and he loves me. He raised me; he was more of a parent than you've ever been. What's done is done and telling him the truth will only cause more pain for all three of us."

_"But don't you want to know? I want to know for sure."_

"It's not about you!" She shouted. "Whatever my DNA says doesn't change anything. Mom, please, if you love me and if you ever cared about Tig at all just leave this alone."

Even for Clay it was a monster bombshell, he could hardly believe he'd heard it all correctly. There was an avalanche of cruel ideas flooding his brain as Jax and Opie came toward TM from the clubhouse. Slipping into the shadowed corner by the air pumps, Clay was already setting a few things in motion.

"You okay?" Juice asked as she threw her phone down on the desk and stomped her feet.

Pulling a face, she nodded but really, Amelia was far from okay. She had just started to tuck that piece of information away when Desiree had to bring it up again and go so far as to mention testing the potential fathers.

"What I do with this little secret has nothing to do with her. She said she wants to know, can you believe that?"

With a sympathetic expression, he snaked his arms around her and held her close. "I understand her wanting to know, but she shouldn't have mentioned it. It'll make no difference."

"Not to me." Amelia sniffled. "To him, it would probably mean everything."

That was her sticking point and no matter what Juice tried to say about it, Amelia never believed him. "We can continue to agree to disagree on that one." Leaning his forehead against hers, he smiled sweetly at her as he played with her curls. "Look, I have to run, I got shit to do, but I'll see you tonight."

"I'm babysitting Abel and Thomas." Her tiny frown slowly turned into a mischievous smile. "But I can probably sneak you in."

"You are terrible," he laughed. "We'll have fun. I'll see you tonight."

Leaving her just as Tig arrived on the lot, Juice watched him go directly to the office. He completely understood her fears, but he also saw how much Tig loved her. He knew if Tig ever found out it would be dramatic, but it wouldn't change anything between the two of them.

"Guys." Juice jogged up behind them. "Nero called, he has the paperwork ready and he said he'll be there till around four."

"You still got eyes on Clay?" Opie asked as they huddled outside the TM office.

Juice nodded. "Yeah, off and on like you said. He's uhh, fooling around with Gemma. I think he is. That or they're just like, really good friends."

"Jesus Christ." Jax looked disgusted but not by the act itself, just the secrets and Gemma's terrible choice to trust him again. "She's gotta pick one."

"This is gonna be bad for business; I can see it now." Opie's words were ominous and they all knew they were true.

"Juicy, see if we can't get Meels to keep Gem busy," Jax directed. "You know, take up some of that free time and keep her from sneaking off. I can talk to Nero."

Opie looked at Jax surprised and highly amused. "You gonna tell Nero he can't screw your mom?"

"It's business, it doesn't mix with my mom. He's old school, he'll get it."

"She won't." Juice muttered, his eyes landing on Clay in the far corner and drawing the others' attention to him. "Easier to keep them apart than her and him though."

"You know," Jax groaned. "I really shouldn't be so goddamn concerned with my mother's sex life."

"No," Clay strolled around from the opposite side of TM, away from the office. "You shouldn't, but if it's going to screw with your legitimate businesses, it's gotta stop."

Rolling his jaw Jax shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure my wants and needs are low on the list of reasons about why you want her and Nero apart."

"My motivations don't mean shit." Clay grumbled as he walked further down the lot toward his bike.

* * *

><p>With Juice on Clay's tail, Jax felt confident he could finalize things with Nero and not have any niggling worries or thoughts in his mind. Nero had a bright but subdued smile on his face as Jax and Opie strutted into Diosa, swagger on display for their soon-to-be business partner and the stable of woman.<p>

"Nero." Jax extended his arm; the men shook hands with strong grips and unflinching eye contact.

"Jax", Nero said as they shook and did the same for the second in command. "Opie, it's good to see you guys."

"Yeah, we're glad this worked out."

They headed into his office, both Sons declining a drink, as they perused the contract. Lowen had already signed off but Jax wanted to look it over one last time. With pen in hand, Jax waited for Nero to sign before sitting back and crossing his leg over his knee.

"This is great," Jax began, "And I don't want anything to screw with what we have going on here. Complications are bad in this industry and there's one I think we should discuss."

Nero perched himself on the edge of his desk, his arms over his chest and waited for Jax to continue. He wasn't thrilled the young man had waited for him to sign before bringing up anything else.

"Gemma." Jax said simply.

"Your mom isn't a complication."

Opie stifled a laugh and nodded as Jax gave him a quick glance. "You don't know Gemma."

"I think I know her pretty well."

Jax shook his head. "That can't happen. She's family and this is business, I don't mix the two," unless of course, it proved profitable in any way.

Put in such a position immediately turned Nero off, but he was sure there was good reason for such a request. "Do I get a reason, an example of why she's a 'complication'?"

Jax pursed his lips and shook his head. "Better you not. Trust us," he jabbed his thumb toward Opie. "It'll be a headache." There was no one they were protecting more than the club; Nero's and Gemma's hearts weren't part of this.

"It ends." He said simply and slid the contract over. Nero knew Jax was correct, but what he was feeling for Gemma was strong enough to make him question his better judgment. "As soon as you sign."

* * *

><p>"What is this?" Amelia asked as Luanne and a couple skinny blondes marched up the lot. "Uh oh, Dad, I think we're getting invaded by the Porn Patrol."<p>

"They looked pissed." He noted, staring out the blinds with his daughter beside him.

"Yes they do and with Jax and Ope off the lot I'm hoping you can take care of that. I feel like I need a shot of penicillin just looking at them."

"Don't be mean; one of them might be your step-mother one day."

He laughed at her horrified expression and stepped out of the office. Chibs met him halfway as they strolled down to meet the girls. Amelia watched for a moment longer before flicking the blinds closed again and dropping back at her desk.

"Someone broke into Gemma's." Chibs murmured as they took steps in sync. "She's fine but Jax wasn't picking up so she called me. This shite is kicking up again."

"We were supposed to have a prospect at all times. Jax said we'd have protection." She started before they even reached where the women stood. "I heard about Gemma."

Chibs pinched his nose as he listened to her mewl on. "The prospect we had on your studio, he's DEAD!" He snapped, unable to tolerate her abrasive, uncaring, disrespectful tone and attitude. "So until we can spare someone, you need to take a few steps back."

"I want to talk to Jax." She sneered knowing it would get under both Chibs' and Tig's skin.

"Well, sweetheart, he ain't here." Tig was keeping better control of himself, an unusual reversal of the two men's attitudes. If anything upset Chibs to the point he was at, it was the loss of the prospect and the current situation they were in.

"We'll wait then. Right, girls?" Looking over her shoulder at Ima, Lyla and some nameless new girl she smiled. "He can't be gone all day, can he?"

"If he knows you're here he will be." Tig murmured as he turned his back on the females. "You go call Jax, I'll deal with them."

"Is Gemma here?" Luanne asked suddenly making a move to sit in the office.

Tig hurried after them quickly. "She isn't here."

Seeing he didn't want them in the office, she stopped and turned to face him, her hands on her hips. "Clubhouse or office, you get to choose."

"Office, you can wait in the office. We got some umm, business going on in the clubhouse."

He was throwing Amelia to the wolves, but at that time Tig couldn't have them in the clubhouse; actually, he just didn't want to. If they were relaxed and drinking he'd be happy to, but not in their current state. She'd have an easier time dealing with the women than he would. Ima looked terribly disappointed not to be with the guys, but dutifully followed her boss.

* * *

><p>"Ah, shit," Jax hissed. "What the hell is this?" He pointed to the crowd of females waiting for him and Opie as they backed their bikes, parking in their usual spot in the lineup.<p>

"It looks like lots of shit. Gemma and Luanne, that should be fun, Prez."

"Yeah, well you got a visitor too." Pointing off behind him to the swings Jax smiled at Mae, but it was clear he was annoyed by the group he had waiting for him, she didn't seem altogether pleasant either. "She looks pissed."

"I'll take pissed and pregnant over Gemma and some porn queens." Opie said as they shook hands and went their separate ways. Jax had to swallow some pride to appease the CaraCara girls and Opie immediately took Mae home, concerned for her and their daughter. It wasn't until Jax sat and spoke to Gemma that he began to second guess his original prediction about who was heading the attacks. Clay wouldn't hurt Gemma, he'd never even risk it. Locking himself away in chapel, Jax had a lot to handle within the club and even more to think on privately. He had no support, not fully. Opie couldn't be clued into the suspected truth about Piney, especially with an ill, pregnant wife. He was alone and having no one to keep him straight, as Opie was meant to, was dangerous.


	22. Chapter 22

**Character development wrapped in some _serious_ fluff.**

* * *

><p><em>*That evening*<em>

"So where are Jax and Tara?" Juice asked as he stepped into the Teller residence with a six-pack in hand. "I didn't want to drink his beer." He said raising the bottles and shrugging.

Amelia tiptoed into the living room and curled up on the couch. "She's working and he's just not here; kids are already asleep. I figured it was club stuff but you're here and Mae said Opie's been all over her."

Cracking open two beers Juice's bottom lip jutted out, his head tilting to the left as he thought about anything Jax could have said about that evening. He came up blank. "I don't know actually. He had Luanne bitching at him earlier; he's got a lot on his mind."

"He always has a lot on his mind." She mused stretching out her legs, resting her feet on his lap. "Did they sign the contract with Nero?"

"Can we not talk about the club?" He asked sweetly, watching intently as she wrapped her lips around the bottle and took a swing. "If it's the whole hooker and porn star thing, you got nothing to worry about."

"It's not that." She said defensively. "Maybe a little; I trust you though."

"Good, you got no reason not to. I was thinking of heading home for a while." He said hoping to move away from that topic. Juice had heard of and seen enough drama between Jax and Opie with their girls to pursue that conversation if she wasn't going to push it.

"What?" She sat up a little, suddenly worried she'd annoyed him or worse. "Why?"

"Not home home, back to New York. I don't have a great relationship with my mom, but my sister is getting married. I'm not going to the wedding, but I was thinking of seeing her." Wiggling down Juice sunk into the couch and rested his heels on the table.

Dropping back down Amelia nodded. "That sounds sweet."

"That's me; sweet as ever."

"It's true. You are."

"Maybe you could come with?"

"Really? You want me to meet your mom?"

"You'll help soften her up, she'd like you and she sure as shit hates the path I chose in life."

"Blame her?" Amelia asked as she took another drink.

"No, not really."

They chatted about going, when and how they'd manage to get him away from the club, but it was a not pressing matter. The wedding wasn't for months and there was lots settle within the club before Juice left for the third time. They finished the six-pack, four for Juice and two for Amelia, before Tara arrived back home. She was exhausted, but there was a noticeable difference when she heard Jax wasn't home. Amelia didn't even ask before she offered Juice's services in checking up on Jax, but he wasn't too annoyed. Tara declined and specifically asked her to leave it, but that didn't matter; Amelia was going to butt in anyway. They left and hopped right on his bike, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held tight, resting her cheek on his back as he sped away from Jax's home and toward the clubhouse. Although Tara was worried, he took a few wrong turns to prolong their ride together.

* * *

><p>"Let me talk to him." She kissed Juice's cheek and jumped off his bike.<p>

Running into the clubhouse, she pointed to the chapel and Chuckie nodded. Amelia rapped her knuckles on the door, but Jax remained silent. Amelia knocked again and called his name, jiggling the handle but knowing better than to actually try pushing the door open. When she went to knock once more Jax opened the door just enough to see her concerned face.

"Jackson, what are you doing here?"

"Thinking." He smirked. "It ain't easy being king." He quoted one of the only things he and Clay ever agreed on. "Are you okay?"

"Tara is worried, Juice too." He examined her expression and pulled a face over her omission. "What? I couldn't care less about you."

"We know that's a lie."

"Yeah well, you believe what you want to and I believe you should go home. Sometimes thinking is better when you do it with someone." Peeking in the room, she pursed her lips and shrugged. "Looks like you tried doing it alone already."

"And what about you, who you thinking with tonight?" He asked, stepping outside chapel and walking with Amelia toward the front door.

"My usual collaborator. Don't tell Tara I came by, please, she told me not to."

Jax laughed at that and nodded. "Yeah she'd kick your ass."

"No shit."

They hugged, Jax nodding to Juice as he headed down the row to his bike. He didn't want to go home, Jax knew what would happen the moment his eyes met Tara's, he'd spill his guts. Exactly what Jax knew would happen, did. He unraveled quickly and all the secrets he'd been grappling with poured out of him. None of what he had to say surprised Tara, but there was one piece of information he had to keep to himself even though it was his heaviest burden.

* * *

><p>"Where did you find this place?" Amelia asked, astounded she'd never been to this part of Macon woods or as the guys began calling it, Chigger Woods. They were barely truly in the woods, the area sat a few yards from the road. There was a rickety old bridge over an almost completely dried up creek with a bench that looked just about weak enough to crack under their combined weight. "You want me to sit there?"<p>

"It's fine, me and Bobby were here last week." He sat and pulled her down beside him. "Wasn't as nice with him though."

It was dark and Amelia felt anxious in the area but leaning on him, his strong arm around her shoulders, told her everything was going to be fine. Juice wouldn't have brought her here if he wasn't sure it was safe. "Really, how did you find this place?" The wood creaked as she dropped her head on his shoulder, he laughed as she tensed briefly.

The last thing he'd tell her was they had a deep grave piled full of decomposing bodies a few miles west, that wasn't an option, as it even made him uncomfortable when he thought about it. "I used to come up here a lot, after I took care of your uhh, marital issue. Did a lot of thinking and smoked a lot of weed."

Amelia nodded, remembering his quiet sadness that since the shooting had lifted, but there were still moments she could see it. That was why she never wanted him to kill Keith; she knew that would never fully leave him. Juice wasn't made to be a murderer; he didn't have it in him. "I hate that you had to do that."

"I had to protect you and Tig. It was only going to end with someone dead, Meels. I wasn't going to let it be you." He squeezed her, pulling her closer. "I never killed anyone before, for sure. Shoot outs and shit, I'm not sure, but I doubt it."

"I'm sorry." Her chin trembled as she looked up at him, the moon acting as a spotlight on them. "I know it bothers you, I can see it. I didn't want it to come to that, especially with you pulling the trigger."

"I don't regret it." He said quickly. "I'm happy I killed him; I'd do it again, but it just..." He couldn't articulate his emotions. "I want to be that guy, have that shit roll off me, but I'm not like that I guess."

"And that's why I love you so much." She shifted to see him better. "You're compassionate. It's a hard trait to find."

Juice didn't like it that much. He tried to be like most of them, hard and stoic but he felt everything and unlike Opie and even Jax at times, he couldn't rationalize, compartmentalize or make sense of it. Keith deserved what he got and Juice was happy to be the one to give it to him, but he couldn't boast or forget. Everything was starting to feel wrong. He didn't say anything, just slithered down, sure he was going to get a splinter in his pants and rested his head on the back of the bench. It was horribly uncomfortable, but he had a much better view of the sky.

"And you love me for my fat ass, right?" Poking his side to illicit some reaction, Amelia frowned as he chuckled darkly. "Hey, what's up?"

"I just… I just want to be a good person."

"Oh Juicy, you are a good person." Gripping his shoulder, she pulled herself straight up and kissed him fervently. "Trust me, I've known enough bad to know the good when I meet em'. Don't give that asshole another second of worry." He wouldn't meet her stare. "Thank you."

He blinked a few times as he looked at her. "Thank you?"

"I know what you had to do was hard but you saved my life, literally and figuratively. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Well remember, we're not going to find out, Duchess." He sat up and kissed her temple, the conversation was darker than he expected but it switched something in him. Juice smiled, feeling brighter than he had when they arrived. If Amelia thought he was still a good man, maybe it would eventually sink in for him too. "We should head back though."

Amelia was giggling as they walked, hand-in-hand, from the bench to his bike and hopped on sideways. "I'm feeling, adventurous." As she pulled up her skirt a little, she wriggled her eyebrows at Juice but playfully swatted him away. "Yeah right, this is slasher movie type stuff and besides I'm not that much of a horn dog. Take me home and we can watch a movie." He kissed her, his arm snaking around her neck and pulling her close.

"Will you make some popcorn?" He asked in a deep, sultry tone.

"Extra salt." She joked, hardly able to keep a straight face.

"Oh baby, you know just what I like."

The road was dark and generally on that side of the woods no one came around apart from SAMCRO. Juice pressed his lips to hers before jumping on his bike, Amelia following suit and holding tight as they headed off. Their lingering kiss was noted by the eager eyes that sped down the road, Juice hardly noticed anyone close by until catching up with the sedan and passing it quickly.

* * *

><p>"Do you need anything?" Opie asked as he buzzed about their bedroom, his mind still drowning in the terrifying warnings from the doctor.<p>

Propped on her left side, Mae tried to follow him around with her eyes but within minutes a dull throbbing started in her forehead. "I'm okay, just calm down, you're giving me palpitations."

"You're the one who has to be calm." He stilled by the powder room door. "You can't go stressing over the club or work, Mae. You got like, seven more weeks until you're due and I need you both to be okay. I can't deal with something happening to you or the baby." His face twisted as flashes of all he'd lost ran through his brain.

"Eight weeks," she corrected. "And I know, I just feel like I'm being pulled in every direction and ones I don't want to follow are the strongest. You and the kids, you don't pull so hard because you don't want to stress me out and because I want to be here and do things for you but other shit, it's impossible."

"That chick from your meetings?"

"Yeah, but I'm handling it; its good."

"I just need to know you're okay, me and the kids need you."

"I'm not going to get hurt or go anywhere. I will always support you and I'll do anything to keep our family safe. I would say I'd die for you three, four actually, but I know without me…"

"We'd be screwed." He finished for her already knowing that truth himself.

"Yeah, so I gotta keep myself alive too."

Opie looked at her, swollen and uncomfortable, and hated himself. He remembered their first dinner so clearly, even then, he was worried about pulling her in to the life but he was too proud and too drawn to her. Still, he didn't regret it. He just wished she hadn't accepted it all, especially when he got back in with the coke, and accepted him so much that she ended up with her own type of club weight on her shoulders.

"I hate that's a fucking concern for you, staying alive. It was never like this before."

"Hey." She gestured to his side of the bed for him to join her. "Everything is going to be fine. The club is kicking ass and you always have, at least, Jax in your corner. Things will get better."

"You should want to leave." He said, refusing her invitation. "You shouldn't be okay with it all."

Mae struggled to sit up, her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, furious he'd assume she was content with the world they lived in. "I am not okay with any of this. The guns, the coke, the porn, hookers, the murder and the violence; I hate it all more than you will ever know but I _love_ you. I can't abandon you or those kids and this baby needs a father because I can't do it alone and I don't want to. Aside from loving you and wanting to be here to help you; I _need_ you, Ope. I never had anyone before. After the accident, I just dove into us and now I'm dangerously emotionally dependent on you. I know you are too. It's fucked, but unless you leave with me, I'm not going anywhere until it's not safe and I have to."

Seeing the strength of her love and commitment proved to Opie just how foolish their decisions had been. It was irresponsible; he knew that and he was correct in assuming she did. Mae was choosing it though and he was too selfish, too prideful, like before to push her away. He wanted it all; the club and his family. Her fears should have deterred him, but all it did was make Opie dig in his heels. It made him even more adamant on making a change, but less forgiving of the same shady behavior that he'd seen from his brothers and sadly even himself.

"I want to give you everything. I want to protect you, but I need the club Mae. I can't do anything else; this is what I am."

Nodding she waved her hand and laid back down; Mae didn't want to hear it all again. She'd accepted it, but hearing him say he needed SAMCRO or that he was nothing without them enraged her. He was more than some leather bound criminal, a few of them were, but none of them saw it.

"At your core." She repeated the words he'd used as an excuse and explanation so many times before. "Will you please come here?" Mae patted the bed again. "I'm not supposed to be getting so upset, Opie."

Rushing to her side he slipped under the covers with her. "Already a great mom, I told you."

"I had some practice." She smiled, crooked and weak, and reached up to tug at his beard. "I'm just scared of the infant stuff. Her little soft spot and even changing her clothes, they're so fragile. Thank God you have two. If this was your first I'd have to pretend to know what I'm doing. At least I can admit this stuff to you."

"You think I know what I'm what doing? Sweetheart you're in for a shock; I'm not great with babies."

Mae actually laughed and pecked him on the cheek. "Not shocked, actually. So we can figure it out together?"

"Yeah we can."

Slowly lifting her to sit up he gingerly began to massage her shoulders, kneading the taut muscles softly. Mae sighed, her breathing slowed as she relaxed under his touch. "Thank you." She whispered as if the words would shatter the peace they managed to find.

"Did you pick out a name?"

Mae shook her head. "No, not yet. I have a few ideas though. You're really sticking to this boy thing aren't you?" Popping open one eye, she looked at his face in the reflection of the vanity mirror.

"I am and when he's born you'll see I was right."

"And what name have you picked for our faux son?"

"It's a surprise; we agreed I pick a boy name and you pick a girl name, but you're not telling me so I won't tell you."

Mae leaned back against his chest so Opie began to gently scratch up and down her arms, shoulder to wrist. It was a strange little quirk of hers, but no matter how upset she was it always managed to calm her.

"I'll tell you if you want to know."

"Nah, I like some surprises. We had to find out sex, even if the chick is wrong, so the name can be the surprise."

Snickering at his refusal to believe, Mae moved his hands to her stomach. "She was just kicking me." They waited quietly until Opie felt the surprisingly forceful little thump against his palm. He was flooded with intense emotion as he cuddled Mae closer.

"I need you to quit, Mae. I need you to know you're safe and I can't do that when you're there." The last time he trusted her safety blindly, Mae ended up kidnapped and losing their baby. "Please."

"Okay. I'll give my notice."

Surprised she'd given in so easily, Opie didn't question it for fear she'd change her mind. "That's my girl, thank you."

"I'm hungry," she whined. "Can you grab me something?"

"What do we have? You want some of that cake batter ice cream shit?"

"A burger, bacon and pickles, onions, you know what I like." Opie chuckled and moved out from behind her. The last time she asked for takeout, he ended up eating most of it. She was ravenous, but with the baby squishing her organs, Mae had little room for food. "Thank you, Ope." She watched as he sluggishly pulled his boots on and without asking began fishing around her purse. "What are you doing?" She asked, instantly panicking.

"Getting your keys," he pulled a face. "I was gonna take your car. Is that cool?"

Relaxing back again, she nodded. "Yeah, sorry, I'm not really with it right now."

Looking at her with a suspicious eye he nodded. "I'll be right back."

Opie left, his face still twisted with confusion and Mae slammed the back of her skull on the headboard. "Stupid, you already gave Gem the damn balloon." She chided herself. "Calm down, it's done."

* * *

><p>"Galen," Clay and the Irishman shook hands. "Thanks for meeting me now; I've had some eyes on me. This was the only time I knew he'd be busy."<p>

Nodding, Galen smiled at the realization that Clay wasn't overly paranoid and Jax was really onto him. "Did the attack on your home go as we planned? You didn't tell your old lady, did you? I know how these American ones like to talk."

"He hasn't even called church, probably shitting his pants now that he has no idea who's heading it up."

"Aye, and that's why I said he'd be a shitty leader. It's not the time to be panicking, it's time to take action. Which is exactly what you're doing." They strolled toward Galen's car, when he knocked on the window two young men climbed out but did not speak. "These two will coordinate with the others. Do you know when?"

Clay smirked and nodded. "There's a charity run coming up. I want it that night for both of them."

"I thought there were three?"

"Yeah, well, one is pregnant so we may have to tone that down. I don't want dead babies on my hands."

"She's the one in Stockton, aye?" Clay nodded. Galen clasped his hands and shook his fists twice. "We can put some fear in her, hands off, of course."

"She just lost her black protection too." Clay said excitedly. "That needs to happen soon, before she leaves to have that baby." The two old friends grinned maniacally as everything was falling perfectly into place.

"You said you have _ideas_ for the other two?"

"Specific ones. The red head, Amelia Trager, she was raped as a teenager and I know exactly where. I'll give you the spot." He gave detailed instructions as to what he wanted slowly, looking at each man with a stern expression. Even without what had happened to Gemma at the hands of Zobelle and Weston, Clay would rather kill Amelia before having such a heinous act inflicted on his best friend's daughter. He had to focus on hurting Juice and the women rather than what the attack would do to Tig. "Only a few people actually know and I'm not supposed to be one of them. Your old ladies might keep their mouths shut, but sometimes mine's big mouth helps."

"And the other one?" Galen asked, unimpressed with Clay's plans. If the IRA were good at anything, it was suffering; this was all very pedestrian to what he would have concocted. "I'll dig into her schedule; find a time she's not with those boys." His directions for Tara were less detailed, there was nothing specific he wanted to torment her with, but he had some ideas.


	23. Chapter 23

**This actually takes place the next morning, right after the last chapter. Enjoy! xo**

* * *

><p>"How are you feeling?" Tara asked her face sour as she watched the usual suspects traipse around the lot and clubhouse. "You look good."<p>

"I look like a damn mess Tara and I feel like one too."

Bright-eyed and still glowing from her romantic night with Juice, Amelia bounced in practically walking on air. She waved at the girls and hurried over to chat.

"Good morning, ladies."

"Someone had a good night." Mae remarked with a grin.

Although there was only a few years between them Mae couldn't help but feel ancient around Amelia; being married and pregnant didn't help. The young woman's new pep and happiness did wonders for her and the others noticed. Mae couldn't wait to bounce back after giving birth and feel like one of the girls again.

"I did. We had a great night actually."

"Was that before or after you talked to Jax?" Tara asked, annoyed that Amelia had interjected herself, but secretly grateful that the prodding helped Jax open up. If Tara sat back and actually thought about it she'd realize that it wasn't just Amelia's sudden shift into Gemma territory that bothered her. With a guilty expression, Amelia chuckled awkwardly as her eyes focused on anything but Tara.

"I may have mentioned it."

"Just mentioned? That's it? Somehow I think it's more than that."

"Did that shit head tell you?" Shifting the blame, Amelia scowled clearly remembering Jax promising her that he wouldn't tell Tara.

Smacking her lips, Tara laughed and shook her head. "I know him better than any of you realize."

"Alright," Mae stood up and shook her head. "What's wrong? You're never like this."

"I'm sick of this!" She snapped, her hands waving around wildly. "This shit, the violence, nasty women and _meddling_; I'm just done."

Amelia and Mae looked at each other in shock; they didn't recognize the woman before them as Tara Knowles. "Damn, alright. I'm sorry I said anything. Next time I'll just let him stew in chapel alone. None of the shit you just said is me though so just remember that when I'm babysitting or some shit." With that, she stormed out of the office and into the bays. Amelia didn't say anything as she yanked Juice's smokes from his pants and moved toward the swings.

"Tara," Mae said softly. "What the hell? She didn't deserve that."

"She's turning into Gemma."

"I think that might be an exaggeration, besides there are worse women to become."

"No," Tara said coldly. "There's not. I've had it, Mae. Jax kept telling me he'd fix it, make it better and we'd be happy and safe. I'm not happy and I'm sure as hell not safe. After you have the baby we'll talk, discuss some things about the matriarch you should be aware of."

Mae's nose crinkled, there must be more that even she didn't know and it struck a chord. Did Opie know? She doubted he'd keep things, but knowing how worried he was she wouldn't put it past him.

"Let's talk now."

"I have surgery; I'll be back in a few hours though.

"Shit. I have work too, but I won't be back till later." Mae was close to calling in sick but she had to give her official two weeks in person and the promise she made to Opie couldn't be broken. "We'll talk soon though."

* * *

><p>"We are incredibly sorry to see you go, Mae." Anthony said coldly as he sat across from her desk.<p>

Mae nodded, in a way she was sorry to have to go. It didn't feel like it then, but she knew it was the best thing for the baby and herself. Her need to help and heal would be fulfilled by her infant daughter and she hoped the longing for work wouldn't be what it was before.

"I know it wasn't exactly what we were planning, but I've been really sick and of course the safety issues. It's what's best. I'm sorry."

With the letter of resignation in hand, her supervisor reluctantly left Mae's office. She'd given her two weeks, it should have been exciting and calming, but Mae was in a frenzy over the constant changes. There was a lot to do; they'd been procrastinating out of fear from what happened during the first pregnancy. Shaking the thoughts from her head Mae grabbed her notepad and made her way down the hall with the usual corrections officer escorting her.

"Thanks Walt," she smiled sweetly. "I just handed in my resignation; I think I might actually miss it here."

"Ehh, I don't think so. Give us the next two weeks and maybe we can show you; this isn't a place to miss."

"You'll be here, right?"

"As always, watching the camera, you need anything, knock…or scream."

"I hate that joke."

"You're meant to."

He opened the door for her and shut it as she walked toward the table. "Good morning, Donald. How are you?"

"Mornin', miss. I'm okay, you?"

They chatted politely for a few moments as she did with each client. Opie would probably be livid if he knew how much of an interest she took in each man and how she spoke to them about more than simply prison life. They knew no details about her or her home life, marriage or children, but she'd always given them a few minutes to discuss pop culture or something she knew would build a bridge between them.

"I just wanted to let you know, next week will be out last meeting. I'm not going to be here any longer. I'm sorry; I know we were really making progress."

Donald smiled and nodded, his cuffed hands reaching across to touch hers for a moment. "I understand. I can't say I blame you." He winked. "It's a dangerous place for someone like you."

* * *

><p>Clay was all smiles that morning. He watched as Amelia swung back and forth, puffing away at her cigarette. After she'd snatched the smokes, Juice waited knowing her well enough to give her the few moments to relax that she needed. Leisurely he made his way over, Clay's eyes on them as they dangled whispering to each other.<p>

"You're going to let that ruin your day?" Juice lifted her chin and gave her a sunny smile. "You should have heard what Tara used to say to Lyla when her and Opie were hooking up. Shit was brutal. Ignore it, she'll get over it. You were just trying to help."

It wasn't that so much as the discord in itself that Amelia hated. She nodded and shrugged; discord would happen especially in their world. "Yeah, well maybe I should keep my nose out of other people's business."

It was then that Tig pulled in, late as usual. Clay reached for his cell and stepped away to make a phone call. Normally Tig's first stop was coffee then the office to see Amelia, but he only made it a few feet before his phone went off. The caller ID said 'Des' and Tig groaned, it would be another of the 'I love you; let's work it out' calls he dreaded.

"I'm busy, Des." Tig couldn't even understand her response through the blubbering. "Hey, what's going on? Are you okay?" He spun around and headed for the swings, silently asking Amelia if she'd heard from her mother. Amelia shook her head and listened carefully as he put the call on speaker.

_"Alex, I'm sorry."_

"For what?" His concern for her was shining through and even Juice could see it. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Panicking, Amelia reached for the phone, but Tig shook his head and raised it above her. Shushing his daughter, he squinted his eyes as if that would make Desiree's words clearer. Desiree continued to cry and apologize, but she said nothing of consequence.

"Mom, shut up." Amelia snapped, fearing what words might flow through the earpiece next.

Clearly, Desiree didn't know Amelia was in earshot. She gasped and began to sob harder at the sound of her only child's voice. _"Amelia, baby, you don't understand._"

"I do understand." Leaping she tried to grab the phone again, but Juice yanked her back. Amelia gave him a hard look, but she knew he was probably right. "Please, don't say it, Mom."

She yelped and immediately stopped crying. _"Amelia isn't your daughter, Alex. I lied to you when she was born; she's not yours."_

"What?" His face twisted, first with confusion then sadness that morphed immediately into unbridled rage. "She's not my kid?"

"No, goddamn it, I am yours. Daddy please, it's okay." Amelia's chin quivered as she watched Tig work out the truth. He looked at her with stormy, hateful eyes.

"Did you know?"

Seeing the anger in his eyes, Amelia begin to unravel right before them. As Tig whipped the phone at her feet, Juice forcefully interjected himself between the two. "You gotta calm down, man."

"Daddy, I'm still your daughter." Amelia pleaded behind them, terrified to answer his question. "She's probably lying, looking for attention again. I have your curls." She said despondently and touched her hair. "Forget what she said."

"Tig," Juice said calmly. "Don't hurt her again."

Ignoring the words Tig hauled off and landed a vicious right hook, his rings tore through Juice's flesh. "You knew too." He sneered as Juice fell to the ground from the force of the blow.

"She told me." Amelia said as she dropped to her knees beside Juice. "She told me months ago and this is why I didn't tell you!"

The others assembled now and raced over toward the swings. Clay had been watching from afar and quietly ended the call as he moved to join the rest of the club. Being Tig's closest friend he instantly gripped the man's shoulders and pushed him back. Amelia kept Juice on the ground knowing he wanted nothing more than to lunge at Tig.

"Brother, what's going on?" Clay asked loudly for all to hear.

Everyone waited; sure it was some pregnancy scare or romantic issue with Juice. Opie offered a hand to Juice as he stood and kept him in place away from Tig. A deep, jagged cut along his cheekbone dripped blood down his face and onto his cut.

"Nothing." He growled too embarrassed to admit the truth.

"Go ahead." Amelia spat angrily. His reaction was much worse than she imagined, he didn't look pained but hateful. "Tell them. Tell them how happy you are to be free. You're just pissed you wasted so much time, energy and let's not forget money."

"Meels," Jax gripped her wrist firmly. "What's going on?"

"Tig's not my dad; at least Des says he's not."

"I want a test." Tig moved to step forward, but Clay kept him back. "I wanna know."

Amelia's body went limp, her head hanging low as she laughed darkly between sobs. "Fuck you."

"What?" Tig barked, enraged she'd say something like that, filled with such disgust and disrespect. At least he looked at her as his child in that regard.

"Fuck. You." She screamed back. Juice grabbed her by her waist, lifting her off the ground and carried her off toward the office.

Bobby watched the entire exchange, disappointed and disgusted. Shaking his head and turned and began to leave the circle. "I thought you were a better man than that, brother."

They all did. Any one of them would have been shattered, but his reaction was agonizing for Amelia and incredibly painful to watch. Clay kept pushing Tig back slowly as the crowd dispersed. Jax followed Tig, pissed and showing it.

"You pull your shit together." He ordered. "She's fragile and I don't need this on top of everything else. Take a day, Trager."

Tig blinked, his mouth open slightly as he looked at Jax. "Take a day?"

"We don't need this!" Jax barked. "Right now the club is under attack; your little show is not exactly a morale booster. Take a day." It was true, but Jax was also enraged as a father and a friend to Amelia. If the same thing had been dropped on him the last person he'd take it out on were his sons.

Tig snarled as he dragged his feet back to his bike. They all knew where he'd go, some random biker bar where he'd spend obscene amounts of money on girls and drugs. If it would get his mind right or at least keep him from causing even more problems, Jax didn't care.

"Don't get arrested." Jax shouted before Tig revved his engine and left the clubhouse. "Rat, follow him. You keep him out of shit, you'll get your top rocker."

* * *

><p>"Come on." Juice rhythmically rubbed Amelia's back as sobs racked her body. "I'm sorry Meels. I'm so sorry baby."<p>

Looking up at him with tear stained cheeks she shook her head. "Look what he did to you."

"I'm okay. I've had worse."

It took a second, but suddenly she stopped crying and grew angry. It would be a pattern until she was calmer; heart wrenching sobs that turned to fury and back again. "He's a psychopath, like Keith. He never felt anything for me. How do you just turn it off? Almost thirty years of love and affection is just done? It was a fucking lie. He never loved me, I always knew it but this, this proves it."

"Alright," he said soothingly. There was no use fighting her words, it would only make her more upset. "Let's go, we can go to the beach again, like before. How's that sound?"

"Let's go smoke."

"No." He said firmly. "We can go back to the woods or something, but no drugs or alcohol."

She knew his reasoning, but it didn't make Amelia like it. "I'm not doing it. I'm not doing some fucking DNA test. I knew it; I knew he'd do this."

Juice nodded, he got why she refused. "Right now, forget him. You know he's a drama queen with a short temper."

"But I'm his daughter," she cried. "Or was."

What could he say? Juice was utterly speechless as she cried into his shoulder. "Give it some time, stay away from the lot altogether and just try to relax. Come back next week and see what happens." Tara knocked on the windows and raised her medical bag, pointing at Juice.

Knowing he was most likely right, Amelia nodded and pointed to the door. "Yeah, maybe you're right. Go get patched, then we can go." What she truly wanted was to smoke and watch some random awful comedy on Netflix but, so far, Juice hadn't steered her wrong. Maybe she'd try it someone else's way for once, Amelia felt her way had failed far too many times to try again.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey guys! Just saying thanks for the support! Xo **

* * *

><p>"Thanks Walt." Mae said, just as she did every other day,and turned the knob to step into the meeting room for her last session.<p>

Wearing a sunny smile, she opened her mouth to greet Donald, her favorite client, and joined him at the table."I'm actually kind of sad." She said with a soft smile. "Frank will be handling your case from now on. If you have any issues with him you can either have your lawyer submit a denial of treatment form or you can request another therapist. Honestly, there are only two others and I think Frank would actually be a good match for you."

Donald pouted and shook his head. "Since you were honest, I guess I should be, I only requested therapy when I heard you were a woman. Turns out I really needed it."

With a shy smile she shook her head and didn't comment on his admission. "Promise me you'll give Frank a chance?"

"Yeah, yeah, promise." He looked up with a smile. "My daughter wrote me back. You were right."

They spoke in depth about Maura, Donald's daughter, and how he could keep the focus more positive to foster growth in their relationship. Mae actually felt her eyes fill as she began to wrap up the session when Walt the guard gave her the two minute knock. It was the hormones, she figured, as she blotted her eyes with a tissue careful not to smudge her makeup.

"Good luck." She reached across the table and squeezed his hands for a brief moment. "Be safe in here." Mae gathered her things and moved toward the door.

"It's not me who has to be safe." He said as she tugged on the handle but the door was locked.

She pounded her fist on the door, his words sending a chill down her spine. Before she could truly panic Donald came up from behind, spinning Mae forcefully to face him and slamming her back against the wall. Gripping her neck tight, he clasped his other hand over her mouth and flashed her a sickening smile. Mae's scream was muffled, but loud enough that the guard stationed outside should have heard. Her blue eyes, darkened with fear, darted to the camera in the far corner, but the tiny red light wasn't on. The hard truth hit her; someone had bought the room and that guard would not come to her rescue.

"Are you going to be quiet, poppet?" He loosened his grip on her face to test her and she nodded. "Good girl."

"What do you want?" She whispered while trying to catch her breath. His grip on her neck was tight, but she could still get oxygen. "Please, please don't hurt me."

"Are you listening?" He growled, his stale breath turning her stomach. "Look at me and listen."

Fearfully, she looked him in the eye and nodded. "I'm listening."

"You tell your old man, secrets and lies don't just hurt the guilty." Donald squeezed her throat tighter. Her eyes filled with tears while she tried to keep them open as he ordered. "Are you innocent, Miss Mae?" There was a one swift, solid knock on the door and he pressed his hand to her stomach. "You lot picked the wrong side."

The door swung open and just as he released Mae, two guards sprinted into the room and tackled Donald to the ground. Her usual escort, Walt, walked in slowly and winked at Mae as she curled into a ball in the corner of the room sobbing. The guards began savagely beating her attacker even though he didn't fight back or resist. It was to protect the Irish secret and keep Donald, one of the many disposable IRA plants in Stockton, from opening his mouth when SAMCRO undoubtedly hired someone to beat the story from him.

"Mae?" Anthony raced into the room dropping to his knees beside her. "Jesus, Mae are you alright?" He shouted out into the hall for an ambulance. She was in shock, unresponsive and shaking with a blank expression on her face. In her head, she and Opie were curled in bed together, but that was far from her reality. "Mae, come on, talk to me."

* * *

><p>Mae came to at the hospital, San Joaquin General, only a few miles from the prison. It was as if nothing had happened between then and the attack. The moment she opened her eyes, she felt every ounce of fear and panic she'd experienced before. She was alone, but her anxiety sent her vitals skyrocketing and in no time a nurse was right beside her.<p>

"Mrs. Winston, you're safe. You're in the hospital; your husband is on his way."

Opie was the last man Mae wanted to see despite needing him. He'd been practically begging her for months to quit, but she had never had an issue and felt safer at work than she ever imagined she would. Mae was terrified he'd be livid and that he'd blame her for the whole thing.

"Is my baby okay?"

The nurse gave Mae a comforting smile and nodded. "When you got here you were in labor, traumatic situations can do that. The doctor gave you a steroid shot for the baby in case the magnesium sulfate can't stop progression, but you haven't had a contraction in almost an hour. That's very good."

Burying her face in her hands, she nodded and began to cry. "I need paper." She sputtered. "And a pen, please." Although slightly confused by the request, the nurse got Mae what she asked for.

"If you need anything, the call button is right here."

"Thank you."

Mae knew Opie would be there soon. She had been out for about an hour it seemed and she was sure the hospital called him as soon as she arrived. The drive was usually a little over ninety minutes, but that was driving legally and she knew he wasn't doing the speed limit. With a protective hand on her stomach, she began writing every detail from the attack. It was still somewhat fresh in her mind, but growing fuzzy from exhaustion and shock. Mae was sure it would never be clearer and she couldn't forget anything before telling Opie. Her training told her the longer she waited the easier it would be for the memory to morph and she couldn't risk losing any of it.

"Jesus Christ, Mae." She looked up to see Opie rushing into the room, Jax lingering in the hallway with Anthony her supervisor. "Baby, I'm so sorry."

"Oh God, Ope." She began to sob again as he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, engulfing Mae and resting his chin on the top of her head. "I was so scared."

"You're with me now." He tried to speak softly, but every word was filled with anger. He knew he had to comfort her, but Opie was already dreaming of retaliation. "You're fine, honey."

"They said I went into labor; it's too soon. She's not ready."

Hushing her, he tried to keep her as calm as possible; the stress was only adding to the issue. "They stopped it, she's still in there and she's going to be just perfect."

"Here." She managed to grab the pad of paper from the table even as he held her. "I wrote it all down, everything I could remember."

Wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand, Opie took the paper and read it over. His sorrow and worry diminishing with each word. Slowly, his once minuscule anger began to turn into white-hot rage. "Who was he?"

"My regular, my last one." She began to cry again. Opie sat and took her hand in his. "I'm sorry. I should have listened to you."

Shaking his head, he kissed her knuckles, trying to cork his own thoughts and feelings while in the same room. Just as Mae blamed herself, Opie thought it was entirely his fault. All he had to do was tell her about the Niner protection deal, the real reason she'd been safe and that they'd lost it. He regretted keeping that secret and he knew even before they were married, that he should have told her from the beginning. There are three sides to every story and the third, the truth, was that it was nobody's fault but everyone's all at the same time.

"Maelynn, you need to calm down. It's fine you're out of there, you're never going back."

Jax slipped in after getting the official story, full of holes and guard lies, from Anthony. The sight of Mae, horribly distraught with IVs, monitors and a rapidly darkening bruise on her neck, triggered something in him; a mix of rage, guilt and fear. He'd just gotten off a call with Tara, but he wanted to call her again, he could never see her in this condition.

"Hey, darlin'," he kissed her cheek.

Opie didn't take his eyes off Mae as he offered Jax the notepad. "This is what she remembers."

"No one questioned me," she said knowing Jax would ask. "I don't remember anything after he let me go though."

"He's dead." Jax mumbled to Opie, pointing to the name she'd scribbled on the paper. "Guards beat him to death, said he was fighting back."

As if it wasn't obvious before that the guards had been a part of it, it was now. Opie growled with his jaw tight as he nodded at Jax. "Not surprised. Just give me some time here, then call church in a few hours. That work?"

"Of course, brother. Take your time and if you can't make it don't worry about it. I'll get them up to speed. Gem can get the kids from school, just take care of her."

Jax didn't stay much longer he left them alone just as he'd want to be with Tara. Strolling down the hall, his shoulders slumped as he made call after call to each of the guys.

* * *

><p>Juice tossed his keys on the counter and slipped his cut off, hanging it by the door then shouted to announce himself. He heard Amelia holler back from the shower as he made himself comfortable on the couch. They hadn't seen as much of each other as he was used to; she'd taken some time away from TM, and he missed her.<p>

"I'll be there in a second." She poked her head into the living room, hair wrapped up in a towel on her head. "Just let me get dressed."

Flipping the channels aimlessly, Juice hardly noticed her traipse into the living room. Her face was bare and her hair braided, running down her back as she plopped down beside him. They weren't going out and Amelia was a girl who loved to be comfortable.

"How are you feeling?" The pad of his thumb traced along her collarbone and under the strap of her white tank top.

Amelia shrugged, not sure she really wanted to get into it right then. The idea of hunkering down on the couch with him all afternoon was wonderful; she didn't want Tig tainting it. Flicking off her flip-flops, she crossed her legs under her and began fiddling with the drawstring on her cotton lounge shorts.

"Has he asked about me?"

"I haven't talked to him. He wasn't around for a few days and since he's been back I've kind of avoided him."

That didn't mean much to Amelia. "Yeah," she forced a nervous laugh, "Me either."

"Meely, what's changed?" He tapped her shoulder calling for her attention. "In your day to day over the last week, what's different?"

"Nothing, I guess. I saw Tara we worked out that stupid shit from before. I went with Mae to pick out stuff for the baby, they have so much to get JC it's crazy, and I had lunch with Gemma." He slowly began to smile as his point dawned on her. "And Jax called; he usually sits with me at TM now and then and we talk but I haven't been there. He said he missed seeing me in the office, Chuckie just isn't the same," her voice cracked.

"See? Nothing changed, Amelia. You're still you. The only thing that changed is him."

"I'm still not testing." She said staunchly. "Him or any other asshole Des tries to name. You think, since this turned out better than I expected, that it might be the same for you? Tell them you just found out or something?"

"No." He snapped roughly. "My situation is different and worse. Don't bring it up."

"I'd never, it was just a thought."

"Get changed, let's go to the clubhouse."

Amelia looked putout. "No comfy couch cuddles?"

"Save it for tonight. Let's go grab a beer, play a game of pool. I bet everyone will be thrilled to see you. You have just as much right to be there as before, Meels. Even if Tig did change things, if you were never a Trager, it doesn't matter 'cause you're my old lady."

Drawing her head back, she looked at him with amazement. "I am?"

"Yeah, you definitely are."

"Okay, let's go!" Amelia dreamed of being someone's old lady as a child, but she was completely taken aback by Juice's declaration. It was a testament to their relationship, proof they were more than a standard couple. "I'm your old lady." She sang loudly, skipping back to her bedroom to get dressed.

Juice laughed, pleased by her reaction, and pulled his cut back on. It was true, what he said, but he wanted her there to get back some normalcy. Amelia couldn't hide from Tig forever. She reemerged from the bedroom with a small amount of makeup on and jeans but kept her tank top and flip-flops. "Let's go!"

When Juice and Amelia strolled up the lot, his arm confidently over her shoulder to ease her apprehension, neither of them noticed the tense air around them. Tig, Kozik, Bobby and Clay roared in behind them and hurried up toward the clubhouse with dark expressions.

"What's up?" Juice stopped, his body half turned to look at them, his eyes meeting Kozik's and purposely ignoring Tig.

"Mae was attacked at Stockton; she's in the hospital now." Bobby said hurriedly as they all met up. "This ain't the time." He warned Tig and Juice as he watched their eyes lock. "And yes, if you have to ask, it was club related."

"Is she okay?" Amelia asked with concern, chasing after Bobby. "Is the baby okay?"

"She'll be okay, maybe you should go up there. Take a prospect."

"Yeah," Tig grunted. "Good to have Opie here for church."

Juice's eyes narrowed and he held Amelia close. "I don't want you off the lot till I get more information. Besides, Ope should be with Mae and their _family_."

"Yeah, it's safer here for now. Let's just get our shit together." Kozik said with his hand on Amelia's shoulder as they filed into the clubhouse. "I talked to your mom, we should talk later."

* * *

><p>"He grabbed my neck and slammed me against the wall. The camera was off and the guard didn't come when I screamed." They were short, simple sentences jotted sloppily, barely legible, but Jax hated reading them aloud for the club to hear. He continued with Mae's account, word for word, as he finished he tossed the notepad on the table with a furious look on his face. "This stops now."<p>

No one wanted to remind Jax that he'd said that before, yet there they were. "How is she?" Clay asked. What he had heard from Galen was worse than he was expecting.

"Bruised, scared and she went into labor, but they stopped it. She'll be fine, but that ain't the point. If this happened a year ago, I'd say random but it didn't. It happened during her last session with this asshole, last chance. What he said about secrets and lies, this and the break-ins, the Niner hi-jack." Jax was suddenly quiet, his teeth working over his thumb cuticle mercilessly. "Tara, Meels and my boys are here. Gemma is on her way with Ope's kids. I don't want anyone riding alone or any of the women going anywhere unprotected."

"The guy?" Chibs asked trying to keep Jax on task. He was starting to spin out, exactly the way Clay and Galen wanted him to.

"Donald Kinsella."

"Kinsella is an Irish name, Jackie."

He snarled at the mere mention. "She didn't say anything about an accent. Mae would know anyone who sounds like you is fucking trouble." The joke fell flat, but it was a weak attempt anyway.

Clay shook his head, his large hands raised to interrupt Jax. "You just spoke to Galen, _Prez_. He turned down the brown offer, but I thought that meeting went well. That's what I heard from you at least."

"Irish last names aren't hard to come by." Kozik added.

"Yeah no shit," Tig barked.

"Galen being cool is more suspicious than anything." Happy grunted from the far end.

"Juice run this asshole's name, I want everything you can get me on him. I'll talk to Mae myself; see if anything else pops Irish."

"I can reach out." Bobby offered. "See if black or brown heard anything."

"We all should." Juice added. "Who fucking knows how big of a mouth this asshole has…or had?"

"Alright," Jax sighed. "Let's get moving on this." He said, slamming the gavel down.

The group, sullen yet angry, filled the main room of the clubhouse before heading out on their various missions. "Hey." Juice came behind Amelia as she sat at the bar with a beer. "I have to run home and grab my laptop. Stay here."

"What's going on?" She asked, spinning on the stool. "I want to go see Mae."

"I'll get her up to speed," Kozik interjected. "Go, we'll be here when you get back."

Kozik did exactly as he said he would; he told Amelia what had happened, but kept the details and club business to himself. If Juice shared those things that was between them, but Kozik didn't feel comfortable with it. She tried, she pleaded with him to let her go, but Kozik kept her there at the bar.

"I talked to your mom."

She groaned and stuck her tongue out. "If you're going to ask me to talk to her or forgive her, sorry I won't. Looks like I'm fucking orphan Annie now. Tig disowned me and I cut that whore off."

"That's not what I was going to say."

"You mind?" Tig was suddenly behind them, his finger pointing toward Amelia, but his eyes locked on Kozik. "I want to talk to her."

Without a word, Kozik looked to Amelia, who nodded hesitantly. He gave her an encouraging smile and squeeze before moving only two seats away. Making no attempt to hide his interest, Kozik sipped his beer and watched the two closely. Tig shifted and leaned over the bar to block Kozik's view and gave Amelia a forced, crooked smile.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm great." She beamed obnoxiously. "Never better."

"Meels," he huffed. "I was pissed, not at you at your mom."

Her head dropped to her shoulder and puffing out her bottom lip Amelia nodded. "Oh, okay, that makes it just, perfect, right? I should just forgive you because you were _pissed_?"

"Hear me out, alright?"

"I'm tired of hearing you out. Tig Trager, the one with the temper and creepy dark side who gets away with whatever because not only is he a Son, but he's the 'quirky one'. Did you hear me out? EVER? I get being mad she lied and that I didn't tell you right away, but your reaction was ridiculous. Hitting Juice was un-fucking-called for and asking for a paternity test broke my heart. I'm glad I don't have your blood, I don't want it."

Amelia was angry and with that anger came little care for her volume. Kozik overheard the entire thing, easily, and immediately jumped to his feet. "Alright, I think it's time everyone calmed down."

"Back the fuck off," Tig snarled.

"Hey." Juice bopped in with his computer in hand. "What's going on?" He asked concerned that not only was Tig that close to Amelia, but that Kozik was standing so defensively between them.

"Nothing is going on."

"You don't want to be a Trager, fine. Bet you wish you took that psycho's last name now, don't you?"

"Asshole!" Amelia shouted wishing she had the strength to actually hit him, but despite the anger she was hurting and she still loved Tig.

"Alright." Juice knew this would happen, Tig would lash out and the raw state they were all in emotionally made it exponentially worse. "Come on, Meels." Juice said softly, he didn't want a repeat of the week before for himself or her. "Why don't we go back to your place? Internet speed is shit here and I got work to do."

"No, I'm not done with my beer."

"Run along, Amelia, there's the door." Tig said cattily.

"Hey," Juice snapped. "She doesn't have to leave if she doesn't want to." Turning his back on Tig, Juice took her hand. "Meely, you want to sit at the desk with me while I do this for Jax?"

"You know what; this shit doesn't involved either of you." Tig shouted. "Amelia, go sit on the swings, I want to talk to you."

Juice was trying desperately to keep the situation from exploding, but everything he did and said seemed to light a fire under each of them. In that situation, listening to the back and forth, he had a hard time believing they weren't actually blood. Giving up, Juice was about to simply pull Amelia away, but as he moved to lead her with his palm on her lower back, Tig gripped his shoulder and winged him back to the floor. He was hurting, looking for a release, and the only two ways he could find it was by fighting or sex; he picked the former.

"Hey!" Juice jumped up and threw a solid jab, making contact with Tig's left eye before hammering him in the ribs twice. "I'm tired of your fucking shit you asshole."

"Ah, shit." Clay groaned, he knew this was his doing, but the internal discontent within the club was harder for him to watch than he imagined. Even Amelia's pained expression as she watched the two men she loved more than anyone else tear each other apart got to Tig was wild, a crazed and instinctual kind of fighter, Juice was precise, younger and in much better physical shape than his opponent.

"Do we stop it?" Happy asked, enjoying the show.

"No," Jax mumbled. "Let em' go for a while and work that shit out. If it gets nasty, cut in, I don't need anyone out of commission over this pissing match."


	25. Chapter 25

***One week after Mae's attack***

* * *

><p>"You sure you're good with this, brother?" Opie asked from the back yard of Mary's home; both kids rolling around on the grass with her one remaining dog. He'd just gotten there to spend some time with Mae and the kids, but he hated feeling so out of the loop with the club. They still had no leads, but there had also been no new attacks, it was driving them all crazy. "I'm VP, I should be there."<p>

Jax knew had he been in Opie's position he'd feel the same, but now he saw the other side of it. _"We're good. I'm leaving some of the guys back here, we've had a quiet week but I don't trust it."_

"Who else?" Dropping to his knee Opie scooped the tennis ball and launched it across the yard for the dog.

"_Not sure. We got church in a few hours before we head out."_

Checking his phone quickly for the time, Opie gazed over his shoulder back at the house. "I'll be there."

"_Oh yeah? You just got to your mom's last night. You said a few days; it's hardly been twelve hours, man."_

"Mae's been here since she got out of the hospital. She won't mind a visit. She can fucking gossip with the girls."

Jax groaned inwardly and nodded, he knew this would end with Opie going on the run. The whole thing loomed over Jax; he was coming apart at the seams. _"Yeah. When can you get here?"_

"We'll leave as soon as we can."

Opie did but he left Mae there; she was in no shape to leave. Plus he knew she'd take hours to shower and waddle out to her car. She sent him to leave with a bittersweet kiss. It would have been perfect really, Gemma was meant to be setting Wendy up that night and finally the nightmare would be over. She wanted to be home, she wanted to talk to Gemma as soon as it happened and make sure Wendy knew that her cover had been blown. Then it was just a matter of coming clean to Jax, but Mae knew she had to wait. Her doctor had been strict after the Stockton scare, she was on modified bed rest. The stress of admitting what she'd done to him and Tara would easily send her for another blood pressure induced hospital trip. It was safer to be with her mother-in-law no matter how much Mae hated it.

"Where did he go?" Mary asked as Mae shut the door and ambled back into the house. "I thought he said he was staying for a while. Maybe you could have that baby in peace."

Mae nodded and pulled a face. "Club stuff he said, church or something, but honestly I don't know. My head is pounding, I barely listened to him."

"You should," she warned. "You gotta know where it's coming from. How can you protect yourself and those kids if you don't know where to look?"

"It's not like that; they're prepping for a charity run."

"And that bruise," Mary gestured to Mae's neck. It had faded considerably, but the cruel reminder was still glaringly obvious. "What was that like?"

Her fingers ghosted over her throat and Mae's back went up. "That was work related, I told you."

"It's always _work related_. I'll tell you what I told Donna, that shit," she pointed to Mae's neck again, "It doesn't end until someone is dead or in jail. Save those kids while you still can. Opie thinks you're so special, but trust me you're not special enough to deflect a bullet."

"Kenny, Ellie," Mae shouted with tears in her eyes. "Grab your things guys, we're leaving."

"You're going back? Are you out of your mind?"

Mae shook her head and moved for the steps. "Kenny baby, can you please grab my black bag from the spare room? It's not heavy." She was grateful she'd followed Opie's advice and didn't unpack; although at the time it was more for preterm labor reasons rather than a verbal altercation with his mother.

"I'm not skipping out on them. I can't protect those kids or Opie if I abandon them."

"Honey, you can't protect him at all."

* * *

><p>Despite all the investigations, both outlaw and official, nothing came of the few bits of information they had. Donald Kinsella was no one, not on paper, and he wasn't from the west coast. No one could give the Sons any more than they had. The only thing that made them feel remotely more comfortable with the Irish, even though the connection was tenuous, was the long distance call between Jax , Opie and Declan Brogan. He was a King and the man Galen reported to. Declan gave the Sons his word that none of the attacks were carried out by Irish hands. They believed him; there was never any distrust with the true leaders. The week had been quiet, but that made it all the more stressful, as did Hale's interest in the whole situation.<p>

When he arrived at the clubhouse, the men greeted Opie as if he'd been gone for weeks. They were actually surprised he had come back; Opie couldn't wait to race out and see Mae. He couldn't sleep when the house was empty; he missed his family far too much.

"Who's staying back?" Opie asked the second they took their spots.

Chibs raised his hand then pointed to Half-Sack who was still less than completely healed even after all the time he's spent recouping. Along with the Scot and prospect, Happy and Kozik were staying in town. SAMCRO wouldn't be alone, brothers from Tacoma and Tucson would be accompanying them for safety as well as good press in their local communities.

"I'm going then." Opie said staunchly. "I'm not letting my Prez go without his VP or Sergeant. It ain't happening."

"I wanted to go." Chibs said. "Jax thought I should stay." Juice nodded along with Chibs, his agreement shedding light on the decision.

Eyeing Jax for an explanation, Opie couldn't understand why Juice wouldn't be staying if the issue was Amelia. He knew he'd get little now; he slunk down and adjusted his beanie. "Fine, Chibs stays and I go."

"What about your family?" Bobby asked with less judgment than Jax would have. "After the attack on Mae and your kid she's gonna pop out soon, maybe you should stay close to home, brother?"

The look of surprise on his face proved to all of them that what they'd all been thinking was true; Opie actually forgot about all the drama swirling with his family and was focused solely on the club.

"She's with my mom, no better place for her than there. She's got like, I don't know, six weeks left. As long as she stays calm, I can do this. It's overnight, that's it."

Bobby, Jax and Chibs all glanced between each other. Opie seemed desperate and he was right that without Chibs, Jax needed an officer with him. "Alright Ope, but if Mae tries to give me shit," he grinned. "You better take full blame for this one, brother."

That was not going to be a fun conversation, but Opie nodded not showing his apprehension. The meeting continued, itinerary, safety precautions for those remaining in Charming and a speech from Jax about the brotherhood and loyalty.

"We can't let anyone get between us." It should have felt hypocritical, but it had been so long since Jax actually looked at Clay as a brother, he didn't get the irony of what he was requesting of the others.

When the club members filed out into the bar, Opie staying behind, a few stopped short at the sight of Mae by the bar and the kids pouting on the couch. Opie had just said she was at Mary's; he'd be floored to see her there. Spinning, she eagerly looked for Opie, but it was easy to see he was still busy. His giant frame would have been spotted instantly.

Mae beamed at them all. She was happier than she ever expected to be to see them. "Shit," Juice murmured. "Her neck is still fucking dark. That bruise must have been brutal."

With a sharp elbow to the ribs, Chibs effectively silenced Juice and the men shuffled around the room. Using Amelia as his in, Juice headed over with Chibs in tow. "Look who decided to stop by." He gave her a sunny smile. "You look miserable, Mae."

"Shut up." Amelia swatted at him, offended for her friend, but Mae just laughed.

"No, it's fine. It's the ones who keep saying how great I look that piss me off." She looked behind Juice again. "Is he talking to Jax?"

Juice nodded and asked politely for Amelia's undivided attention. Mae and Tara rolled their eyes as he guided her away, a hand on her lower back. She perched on the edge of his makeshift desk back in the far corner of the clubhouse.

"You guys are leaving soon?" She pouted.

"Yeah, we are. You're at my place tonight?"

"Yep I am, with a prospect I think." She gave him a reassuring kiss. "And I know, keep in touch with Chibs and don't go out alone."

"Just humor me, Meels. I know it seems stupid, but I can't have anything happening. Shit's crazy right now, okay?"

Squishing his face between her palms, she nodded and pecked his lips. "You be careful too; that Niner hi-jack still scares me."

"You don't have to worry about me." He winked and scooped her up, heading to the apartment. "We got some time to kill, Princess."

* * *

><p>"You sure about this, Ope?"<p>

Opie nodded, he knew Mae would understand or he hoped she would. "When we get back we'll move on that guard. I don't give a shit what her pussy supervisor thinks, I want him, Jax." The plan was to wait, to keep suspicions low, but there was no way Opie would let Walt breath for a second longer if he didn't actually have to.

"And if Mae finds out?"

"Doesn't matter, I'll do it right this time. Clean. I can't wait to hear what this asshole has to say. We can't just let this keep happening. So we don't know who ordered it; we find everyone who could know, question them and kill them. We can't take this shit anymore. Someone out there knows something Jax. Her last session with this guy, right after we lose black's protection on her, and I'm supposed to sit here and think it's all some fucking coincidence?" Opie was ranting, the thoughts he tried to ignore, the illogical and paranoid theories were all out on the table. "Declan saying we're good with the Irish? That makes me think, more than anything, that this shit is personal."

Jax was not surprised by Opie's outburst; he'd been waiting for it all to come out. For a solid week he'd been obsessing and stewing over Mae's attack. Finally, he was completely on board with his President's suspicions.

"You see now why I thought that shit?"

"I did too, brother, but I didn't want anyone running off half-cocked. I wish we had then though, maybe we woulda spooked em'."

Standing, Jax nodded and the two embraced. "Let's get this fucking run over with. Then we'll come home, sit down with Juice and go from there."

"Juice is going with you to keep eyes on Clay?"

"Yeah, I told Tig I needed him on the relay to keep him away from Amelia. Chibs is the one we all trust the most; I want him running shit here while we're gone."

"I'm behind that, brother."

* * *

><p>"She said that to you?" Opie snapped furiously. He didn't want Mae in Charming, especially not without him, but this run was more than just for charity.<p>

Nodding, Mae rested her cheek on his chest as he awkwardly held her. They used to fit so well but her oversized stomach made it much less comfortable. "I'm sorry I came back without calling first, but I could not stay there."

"No, I get it. I'm going with Jax and the guys, baby. I have to, we're short and once the kid comes, I'll be home a lot. I gotta do this now while I can."

With a loving smile, she nodded, hating it but understanding his reasoning. "Yeah, it's okay. I get it." Mae was looking forward to having him gone while Gemma handled Wendy. Once he arrived back home, she could finally focus completely on her family.

* * *

><p>"There is something incredibly sexy about that isn't there?" Tara asked as the men rolled out in formation amid cheers and a few sad eyes.<p>

With a smug grin, Gemma nodded and winked at the girls. "I don't know how some women don't see it." She left them, her boots clicking along the cement.

"I told this guy in my stats class Juice was in an MC and he said I didn't look like a biker chick." Amelia laughed as they stared off passed the gate despite the men being out of view. "He apparently doesn't know the difference between old ladies and crow eaters."

"We should hang out tonight." Tara suggested, as they slowly began to move from their spots. "We each have an escort; I think they'd enjoy it too."

They chatted and joked before Tara had to run. Mae was draining with every passing minute. She left for a nap not long after Tara, but only after her and Gemma shared a word or two. Amelia sat, alone, in the office looking into the garage longingly. Already, she missed Juice.

* * *

><p>"Stay here with Neeta." Tara instructed Happy as she scooped her keys up from the entryway hooks. "I'll be ten minutes, tops."<p>

"Where are you going?" Happy grumbled, phone already in hand.

"Mae and Ope's." She pointed to the front door. "I have a gift for them, but Opie called off the shower after her attack so I want to drop it off. It'll cheer her up." Far from asking permission, Tara tried to be respectful and understanding, but the constant shadow weighed heavily on her.

Simply nodding, Happy called Half-Sack. The two spoke quietly until Tara arrived, unharmed. It was then she informed him and Happy she would be staying, exactly as Amelia arrived on the back of Kozik's bike.

"I have wine. Does either of you girls want a glass of wine?" Mae asked eagerly as Kozik and Half-Sack moved out to the porch with beers. They did, of course, they did.

"Shit, you did a great job." Amelia remarked as she poured two glasses. "This house before, it was _cute,_ but I like what you did with it. It's kind of edgy, but still homey." Handing Tara her glass, Amelia sat beside Mae again.

"He was stuck on certain things, _Harley_ things, but we compromised. Tara," Mae smiled casually. "Gem with the boys?"

As she sipped her wine, Tara rolled her eyes. "No, she said she was too busy tonight. All that time at the whore house is warping her priorities."

Feeling slighted for Gemma, Mae shrugged. She knew what Gemma was actually doing; she was helping keep Wendy away from Abel. Tara would be grateful if she actually knew what was going on, Mae knew she surely was. "At least someone's getting laid."

Amelia giggled like a schoolgirl. "Hey, I'm getting laid too. I thought you pregnant girls were horny little things?"

"Please, when I was pregnant with Thomas I was almost thankful I didn't have to deal with Jax's libido. When you're that far along you don't want to see a penis, trust me."

Mae felt her cheeks flush, somewhat prudish, and shook her head. "I'm not allowed anyway, modified bed rest and all. I wasted all my 'walking' time driving from Mary's. But yeah, I wish I wanted it, but I don't."

The conversation went from slightly naughty to scandalous then shifted from school and work to all things gossip. The wine was drained completely and Mae was not shy about pushing the girls out, before she even knew about gifts.

"My little guard dog, Kipper, can lock you two out. I need to go to bed."

Mae slowly moved up the steps, but Tara and Amelia stayed. They chatted setting up a few gifts and hanging a clothesline, complete with tiny pink outfits and onesies dangling, around the living room.

"Alright," Kozik was just ending a call as they stepped outside. "Rat's meeting you, he'll follow you back and I'm taking you to Juice's."

"Can we stop at my place?" Amelia tightened the chinstrap on the oversized helmet she wore. "I forgot my meds and my charger."

As Kozik nodded and they prepared to take off, Tara's phone rang through the quiet house. Swiftly, she searched her bag and brought it to her ear. It was Neeta with an unusually hysterical Abel in the background.

"Is he okay?" Already, right after Kozik left the drive; Tara was jumping in her SUV.

Between shushing and reassuring words to the child, Neeta tried to answer. "He's fine physically. He wouldn't go to bed, said he wanted Mommy and Daddy. That's not unusual for him, but this, this is very unusual."

"I'll be right there." Just as Kozik disappeared in the distance, Tara jumped in her SUV to head for home.

* * *

><p>"You don't have to come in." Amelia said, jumping off his bike. "I'll be two seconds."<p>

With a wink, she bolted the door and disappeared into the building. Kozik sat on his still running bike, nodding his head to the music only he seemed to hear in the rumble of his bike. It wasn't the first three calls that finally got his attention, but the fourth.

"She's not here," Rat shouted into the phone as he drove around the block. "You said Ope's. I'm here, but Tara isn't."

"Shit," he snapped and jumped off his bike. "Call Hap, maybe she went home. I'm with Meels, but I'll take a drive around." Following her same steps, Kozik went into the building and raced up the steps. "Meels," he banged on her door.

"What's up?" She swung open the door and Kozik flew in, clearly rushed and under pressure. There was no real evidence to suspect foul play, but with the months they'd had, there was no way they'd take it slowly.

"Stay here, I gotta take a ride. Do not leave. Got it?"

She nodded, mumbling out her agreement as Kozik pulled a gun from the back of his pants. "Just in case." He said in a tone she had never heard. Gripping the back of her head, he kissed her forehead and vanished out the way he had come.

"This is a goddamn mess." With his gun in one hand Amelia turned, reaching for her phone to call Mae when she was tackled to the ground. Her skull slammed against the coffee table, the one Juice had given her as a housewarming gift, with a sickening thud. The attackers had been waiting for hours in her linen closet and jumped at the first available chance.

"He gone?" The one Irishman asked as the younger, mousy one, peeked out the window. He looked back, nodded to his accomplices while one hoisted Amelia up and carelessly tossed her over his shoulder. The crack to the head easily disarmed her. Amelia groaned but her eyes remained shut, her body lifeless as they carried her out to the truck.


	26. Chapter 26

There was nothing in Tara's head the moment she drove away except getting to Abel. That boy was far from spoiled; she knew there was a very real reason for him to be so upset. Responsibly, she called Happy and he was predictably, angry.

"He's fine." Happy grumbled. "Pull over and wait for Rat."

"I'm just a few blocks away." She replied, turning up the winding road she and Jax considered the back way. "It's more dangerous if I stop."

Glancing back in the rearview, she saw the distinct headlight of a Harley. "He's here." She informed her overzealous guard as the rider pulled alongside of her. "No, it's Kozik."

"Isn't he with Amelia?"

"Guess not. I'll be there in a minute." She ended the call quickly.

Tara didn't hear the suppressed gunshots, neither did Kozik, but the shattering glass from behind her was impossible to miss. With a screech, she swerved, keeping her head low as she tried to see out the windshield. She gasped as Kozik began firing back, barely able to see anything, and stepped on the gas to use the cover he provided her.

"Jesus." She gasped as Kozik spun out and tumbled down the embankment. Tara tried to contact Happy, she even smiled at the brief flicker of hope as he answered the call. Before she could speak, she was thrown forward, her face slamming into the steering wheel. The cell phone fell to the floor. Happy jumped into action at the sound of the impact.

"Tara?" He hollered into the phone, racing out to the kitchen to call Chibs from the house line.

While the blow hadn't completely knocked her out, she was dazed and unable to keep the SUV on the road. The Irish drivers watched with glee as the SUV veered off the road and down into a deep ditch. They shared a look and nodded before stepping on the gas and barreling down the road.

* * *

><p>Galen had to use his most brutal men for this venture. Not only were they much better with keeping these plans far from the Kings, but women tended to be a problem for some but not these men. He never did understand that. They had broken up into two groups. Three men, sick enough to be more than happy to torture Amelia, and two who felt more comfortable with keeping their hands off.<p>

Tossing Amelia into the van, they sped off toward the playground. She rolled around with each turn, slowly coming to with the help of boisterous voices and the jostling as they drove. "Do you know who I am?" She groaned. "They'll kill you. Juice, Tig, Jax they'll all kill you."

"Aye, but not if we kill them first."

It was the Irish. Amelia panicked as she thought about the horror stories she heard of ruthless men who had little conscious to speak of.

"Please don't hurt me." She begged as the van came to a stop. The doors opened and with all her limited strength, she tried to kick and fight them off as they dragged her out by her ankles. It took no time at all for Amelia to know exactly where she was; the spot behind the swings was seared into her brain.

"No." She turned and tried to crawl, but two of them grabbed her feet. As they pulled her back toward the woods her arms gave out sending her chin into the cement. The pain didn't matter, adrenaline was flooding her, the refusal and the fear fueling her fight.

"Come now, lovey," one said. "We thought this might be nostalgic."

Her hands clawed at the ground desperate to free herself, but there was nothing to grasp. Amelia screamed, piercing and loud, as they hit the dirt. Her skin was burning while they pulled her along the street and then over the prickly ground of the woods.

"Shut it." She received a hard kick to the stomach for her efforts, which left her gasping for breath.

Hitting the spot, they rolled her over, sick smiles on their faces, and as instructed began beating on her. It was a game to them as they repeatedly hurled their fists into her face and stomped their heavy boots along her body. One even went so far as to slash at her chest and arms with his blade. She'd given up, the pain was unbearable, until one man decided Clay's order wasn't enough. He'd specifically said to fall just short of rape, but Clay's orders meant very little.

"Go back to the van." He told the others with a forceful voice. They shrugged and turned back, lighting cigarettes as they went.

The lone man used his hunting knife to slice through her jeans then began to work at his belt. Just the sounds sent her back to that night, eleven years instantly felt like yesterday, and Amelia was suddenly a force. Inching her body to the left she grabbed a rock, dirt covered and wet from the rain. As he knelt over her, Amelia used every bit of remaining strength to whack him across the temple.

He dropped down on top of her and she stifled a sob. "Move, come on," she willed herself as she managed to get out from under him. Amelia ran. She ran as fast as her body allowed further into the woods and away from the van. The other two would find out what she did soon enough and she had to go. As soon as Amelia's feet hit the cement, she dropped to her knees and began to cry.

* * *

><p>Amelia was gone. Tara was gone. Kozik was gone.<p>

Chibs roared furiously as he looked around the empty clubhouse. Every available patch was out; Unser helping the only way he could by gathering the remaining individuals at risk. Mae, Kenny, Ellie, Thomas, Abel and Gemma were packed into the apartment; the children sprawled out on the bed asleep. Gemma had been called away before she could get into Wendy's undiscovered; that end still needed to be tied and it nagged at her silently.

They sat in heavy silence until Chibs entered, without knocking, pain and panic on his face. "They'll be on their way back soon, should be a few hours at most. I'm calling then I'm going out; Unser is here, Sack too. Gemma, you carrying?"

"Always." She assured him. "Find them, Chibs."

He nodded and left the room somberly. It was a terribly dangerous call to make, but there was no way of not contacting Jax and the others. From the sounds in the background, Chibs could tell the drop went well and they were celebrating, this would dampen their party.

"Jackie," Chibs started and immediately Jax knew it was bad. "It's Tara and Amelia, they're gone."

Just as Chibs' tone had given him away, Jax's darkening expression, clenched jaw and flared nostrils alerted the whole club to the emergency. "When? What happened?"

"Just now, we don't know. Tara and Kozik were run off the road; she was on a call with Rat. Amelia, well, she just vanished from her apartment. All the kids, Gemma and Mae are safe, they're at the clubhouse now."

Opie and Juice were on him like a flash, a few of the others crowded around as well. Some of the patches from other charters kept a keen eye, but remained in their spots with their beers. "We're coming back." He forced the words through gritted teeth and without saying good he jammed his phone back in his jeans.

"What is it?" Ope asked as Jax began charging through the bar and out to the parking lot.

Stopping, Jax turned back to face Juice as Tig came jogging up behind the group. "I'm sorry guys, we have to go back. Someone took Tara and Meels." He said, already fearing the worst. "Bobby, tell Tucson and Tacoma, SAMCRO is out, we're heading back home."

"What happened?" Juice hurried, pushing his way between Ope and Jax. Tig remained speechless, his fingers gripping his hair as he felt the frenzied rage and dread grow inside him. "With Meels, how did someone take her? I'm sorry about Tara," he added.

Jax shook his head. "I don't know, we get back then we get details."

As they mounted their bikes, Juice felt his chest tighten and his face grow puffy as he fought the urge to cry. All he could think of was how scared she had to be, how scared he was of losing her. He couldn't get lost in the fear; Amelia used to say that about her anxiety. He would use her mantra to keep sane, as sane as possible, until they found her.

* * *

><p><strong><em>*Some time later*<em>**

Tara slowly began to open her eyes to the sound of footsteps. She whimpered and groaned, but remained silent as two voices came up on the SUV. At least she didn't have the boys; that was her only comforting thought. She hoped they were safe, flinching as the back door opened.

"Tara?" Rat whispered to her through the window as Kozik grabbed the bullet casings from the back seat. "You alright? The boys are safe don't worry. I've been looking for you forever."

Her eyes popped open. The moment her vision cleared to reveal Rat staring at her with concern, she began to cry. "The seatbelt is jammed." She explained as he tried to maneuver her out. "I'm okay though, I think. Wait, hours?"

"Couldn't see the car from the road, we didn't even know where you were. You gotta tell us about these secret short cuts."

"Call an ambulance, get her checked out. Tell em' some kid threw a rock at her window or some shit. I don't care." Kozik was injured, but he pushed through the pain to take control of the situation. He knew the prospect wasn't going to handle it. "I'm taking your bike. I can't get mine out. I gotta get Meels."

"She's gone." Rat said softly. "I went by her place, apartment door was open, place was empty."

"Shit!" Kozik was reeling, placing the blame solely on himself. "Let me go look or something. I gotta find her." He'd never be able to forgive himself, especially if Des was right and he was her father. He'd been trying to talk to her for weeks, but the time was never right.

* * *

><p>No one even thought to check the woods, few even knew of the significance, but none of them imagined she'd be there. Chibs and Kozik went back to her apartment, but Rat was right, the place was clean. Slowly Chibs sat on her couch, head in his hands, trying to think clearly. He didn't know where she was or who had her, but he felt his own heartache for Amelia.<p>

"Chibs." Kozik came out from the back hall with a matchbook in his hand. "Castle Road." He said and tossed the cardboard to the Scot. Opening the plain white fold, Chibs saw those two words scribbled along the inside.

"Mother of Christ, we gotta go. The playground off Castle, she's gotta be there."

It made no sense to Kozik, but he followed his Sergeant's lead. Kozik circled the block while Chibs decided to venture into the woods. He remembered the spot perfectly, he and Jax were both horrified by what they found, and he feared the same grisly discovery would greet him once again. The woods were empty, the Irish attackers long gone, but Chibs did find the blood spattered rock Amelia used to get away.

"Chibs!" It was Kozik's voice from the street. Chibs dropped the rock and headed out, branches and leaves whipping him along the way. When he stepped through the tree line, he saw Amelia; Kozik's arms tight around her in a fireman's hold. "She was by the dumpsters on the other side of the woods. Nothing looks life threatening. She won't tell me what happened though. She won't say anything."

"Meely." He brushed her hair from her face, happy to see her eyes with light behind them. "We got you now."

"Hospital?" Kozik asked, unsure of how this would go. The cops help would be a double-edged sword.

"No," she managed to say. "No hospitals, please."

Chibs knew Tig and Juice would want her there, force her to go when they arrived back home, but for the time being he didn't want her anymore upset than she already was. "Alright love," he forced a smile for her. "Let's get you back to the clubhouse."


	27. Chapter 27

The crew separated at Saint Thomas. Bobby went with Jax while Happy and Rat were already looking for him in the waiting room. As thrilled as he was to know she'd been found, Jax wouldn't be satisfied until he saw her. Margaret Murphy made her way down to greet Jax; reception knew to contact her the moment he arrived. Even though they had had their moments, Jax was polite. He knew to Tara she was a friend and he was grateful for that.

"Is she okay?" He asked as they walked the hall.

Margaret nodded and put a comforting hand on his upper arm. It surprised him, the touch wasn't charged with rage or any overwhelming emotion, it was simply a kind gesture. "She took a nasty knock to the head, but CTs and x-rays are clear. From what I understand she's got some bruised ribs and abrasions, but it's going to look much worse than it really is."

"Thank you." He said with earnest sincerity. "Can I see her?"

Extending her arm, she pointed to the door just a few feet from where they stood. "Right in there, she's resting now. I wanted to have them admit her, just to be safe, but she's refusing. She's also claiming it was an accident, something smashed in the window and she swerved off the road." There was an underlying tone of disbelief, but Jax puckered his lips and nodded.

"I wasn't there, but if that's what she said then that's what happened."

With a judgmental look, she nodded and turned back, her heels clicking on the linoleum as she left. Jax didn't wait, he rushed into the room. Just like Margaret mentioned, she looked much worse. Shuffling his feet quietly, Jax sat in the visitor chair and careful to avoid the IV, held her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

Jax had tried, but had done a poor job of not waking Tara. She remained still with her eyes closed. Talking to him would only end with a shouting match and she didn't have the energy for it. "Babe, I'm sorry." He spoke softly into her skin. "I'm going to make it right."

* * *

><p>By the time, the others arrived back at the clubhouse Amelia had passed out from a mixture of exhaustion, pain and the shots of whisky Chibs fed her before he began stitching her up. She wasn't bothered by scars, Amelia had more than her share, but Chibs refused to add to them. He tried to keep steady and straight to do a better job than he would for Tig or any of the others. Ope raced through to the apartment, his arrival giving Gemma the chance to leave. There was no way Mae could be out there and see what had been done to Amelia, it would upset her far too much. She was aghast watching Juice's visceral reaction. Locking eyes with Clay as he stood dutifully by Tig, Gemma knew just by the look on his face and the location of Amelia's attack that he had been responsible. She cursed herself for ever trusting him again and for knowing she'd now have to bring about the downfall of another husband.<p>

"Meels?" Juice barreled in the club.

"Aye Juicy, she's here." Chibs hollered from the pool table. Amelia was curled up, a blanket over her, as he worked on the gash along her collarbone. "She's out of it."

"Shit, Princess." He gingerly touched her, his fingers tracing the lines of her face. "What happened?" There was a valiant attempt to be viewed as strong and tough, but no one was fooled. His eyes were rimmed red and cheeks puffy as he just barely held back tears. Juice didn't even know the worst part yet.

Peering over his glasses, Chibs saw Kozik with Tig in the corner, both men torn up emotionally as the details were outlined. Tig hadn't even looked at her, he couldn't. He felt paralyzed and weak as he listened to Kozik's words.

"Kozik found her," Chibs said slowly. "She was huddled next to a dumpster by the Castle road woods."

"No," he moaned. "Brother, did they…?"

Chibs knew what Juice was asking. "We don't know, she didn't say much before she passed out. She was adamant, Juicy, no hospital." He nodded, hovering over her as Chibs continued, petting her hair and whispering softly. "No one knows about that," Chibs whispered. "Whoever did this is one of the few who knows those woods. This was very personal."

"I know." He said darkly, his eyes still on Amelia.

* * *

><p>"I don't remember anything." Tara said coldly, finally opening her eyes. "Ran me off the road, that's it."<p>

"You shouldn't have to deal with this. We're ending it all."

"When?" She snapped, sitting up and snatching her hand back from him. "Months, Jax, you've been saying that for months. None of you have any idea what's going on."

"I told you I'll protect you, I will always protect you and our boys."

Shaking her head Tara fell back, dropping her head on her pillow. "I don't believe you."

* * *

><p>When Jax charged in, furious and mortified, the air in the room changed from sorrowful to violent. What transpired between them made Jax feel like less of a man than he had ever before. The worst for him was that everything she had said was right.<p>

"Shit, Amelia." He stopped mid-step and hung his head. "Chapel, now."

"I have to finish patching her," Chibs explained. "She won't go to the ER, besides that would bring Roosevelt in, can't be havin' that Jackie. How's Tara?"

"She'll be fine." He uttered bitterly. "Finish up." Turning away, he slipped into chapel. Closing the doors behind him, he just stood and stared at the reaper artfully crafted into the table.

* * *

><p>"Are you okay?" Opie asked in a harsh whisper as soon as Gemma left. He collected her in his arms, breathing in her scent deeply.<p>

Mae nodded, clearly shaken but keeping herself calm. Her body trembled as she spoke, the memories of her attack flooding her. "I'm fine but Ope, I remember something else from Stockton. When I got here," she paused, "Chibs called me poppet, I guess I forgot but that asshole, Donald Kinsella, he called me poppet. That's not an American thing, but he never spoke with an accent."

Covering a brogue wouldn't be difficult, not for the men the IRA trained. Opie felt his heart quicken, he had to talk to Jax. Multiple highly organized attacks on club family members weren't random, whoever had Mae attacked had gone after Tara and Amelia, that was obvious. "Okay, just…just keep that between us for now."

"Why?" She asked, unsure if she really wanted to know.

"If the Irish are doing this," he lowered his voice. "Then they've got someone inside helping, they have to, there are too many coincidences."

"Clay?"

"Let's hope it's him or that means we have a whole other traitor on our hands."

* * *

><p>"Jax," Opie called out as he stepped into chapel. "We gotta talk."<p>

"What now?" His chair was turned away as he stared at the countless SAMCRO plaques and artwork adorning the walls.

Unexpectedly, Opie took Piney's old chair. He needed something, some kind of guidance from his father. "We know what happened to the girls?"

"Tara was run off the road, knocked out. She doesn't remember anything. I think Meels is still out."

"Chibs said something to Juice about the woods, they found Meels somewhere around Castle road."

Jax turned around, the color draining from his face. "They found her there?"

"Yeah," Opie said with confusion. "Why do I get the feeling that means more to you guys than anyone else?" Reluctantly, Jax went through the story knowing it didn't matter if Amelia wanted Opie to know or not, he needed to now. "Goddamn," he hissed.

"That's what happened back then, suicide and shit was all from that."

Suddenly Opie felt monumentally guilty for his years of contempt and annoyance. "Who knows?"

"Well, me and Chibs found her, Tara and Tig but that was all back then. She told Juice and Gemma, recently though and that's it. Maybe Mae? I know they're close. Tig didn't want anyone knowing, she didn't either so it got swept away."

"Mae said Kinsella called her poppet."

Jax's face twisted at the revelation. "I've only heard one person ever use that fucking word."

"Chibs." Opie said sadly. "He called her that tonight, triggered some shit in her head. Didn't have an accent though, so I don't know, but Irish makes sense."

"Yeah, except for our talks with Declan." Jax reminded Opie as if he could forget. "How much control those old bastards got on their guys over here?"

"I thought it was more than we had. Maybe they misjudged their control like we misjudged the loyalty?"

* * *

><p>Juice smiled, tears threatening to wet his cheeks as Amelia looked up at him. She had finally opened her eyes, not long after Chibs finished, and instantly she reached for Juice. Amelia's fingers gripped on to him with shocking strength, she wasn't letting him go.<p>

"Meely." He kissed her cheek softly. "I'm here." Juice was supposed to be asking her what happened but the fragile look in her eyes kept him from doing so. "I'm sorry," his voice cracked a little. "I should have stayed with you."

"You don't leave me again. Please." She began to sob, inching her body closer to him. "Take me home, JC, let's go home."

Juice saw Jax and Opie approaching and sighed heavily. "Alright, I'll take you home, but you gotta talk to us first. Tell us what happened."

Her eyes grew wide as Jax and Opie loomed large over Juice's shoulder as he leaned across the table close to her. They were faces she trusted, but the stance and look in their eyes were threatening. Attempting to sit up, Amelia whimpered and grimaced, every nerve in her entire body was screaming. Juice held her back and helped her swinging her legs over the side of the table.

"Kozik left," she screwed her eyes shut. "They came outta nowhere and knocked me out, must have been in my place waiting. I woke up in a van and they took me into the woods." Amelia shook her head, almost unable to speak. "They knew," she locked eyes with Jax. "They knew and they did this," she gestured to her battered body. "The one was, he was going to, but I got away, smashed him in the head with something, a rock." Breaking down, Amelia began gasping for air.

"She's done." Juice said adamantly. "She doesn't know shit."

"They were Irish." She said as Juice picked her up, holding her close to his chest. "Heavy accents."

"Take her back to your place." Jax instructed with a hard stare in Opie's direction. "Take your family home, Ope. Mom I need you with me and my boys. Nine tomorrow, church, I want a full fucking table."

They gathered their loved ones and happily took them home. Tig and Kozik followed behind Juice as he transported Amelia in the tow truck, his head spinning during the short ride. When they arrived at his house, Juice moved to scoop her up again, but she shook her head insisting on walking.

"Amelia." Tig jumped off his bike heading for the house but she didn't acknowledge him. "Baby, I'm sorry."

As she shook her head, Kozik put a firm hand on Tig's chest. "You need to go, man. Don't fuck her up even more."

* * *

><p>"Amelia and Tara will be okay, right?" Mae kicked her legs as she tried to find a comfortable position, but failed miserably.<p>

Opie nodded, his head aching. "Yeah, they'll be fine."

"So? Did you talk to Jax? Ope, more and more I find myself doubting that we can do this. This is too much; it's out of control. Maybe…maybe your mom is right. Tell me if you think she's right, we don't even know who we can trust."

Pressing his palm to her cheek, Opie forced a smile. "Everything is fine. We trust the club, like always."

"But you said –"

"Mae, you trust the club. Forget what I said earlier. It's fine."

* * *

><p>Jax didn't want to wait, but he had to. They couldn't plan anything when a good number of them were so pained. He and Gemma took the boys home, settling them in bed easily and she put on a pot of coffee.<p>

"How's Tara?"

"They attacked Tara on the way home, that back short cut we take. You know where they took Amelia?" He pushed away the mug she offered him. "Did you see what they did to her?"

Gemma's mouth moved ever so slightly as she tried to think of the words of what she could say. "I did. How do you think they knew?"

"You know how they knew. Four people know that short cut, three take it and those woods, what happened there," he shook his head.

"Jackson," she protested.

"You find out what Clay knows, other than what you told him, and find out what he did to Tara and the others." The words slithered out through his clenched jaw; his cloudy eyes staring at her with a rage Gemma didn't think he was capable of feeling toward her.

"He doesn't tell me anything."

"You find out. Love him, support him, work it out because if you don't this falls on you. Show me I can trust you with my family."


	28. Chapter 28

_**About a week after the attacks...**_

The only good church really did was give the club a chance to lay everything out about the attacks and have everyone on the same page. There was no hiding their IRA suspicions; there were too many people around when Amelia named the Irish to lie about it. Clay would have a heads up, but maybe that paranoia would work in Jax's favor or, scarily enough, it would send Clay into overdrive. They were taking every precaution they could, but Gemma was on task and frightened enough that she could be trusted.

The girls gathered in Juice's living room; Tara, Mae and Gemma visited with Amelia while their men had a chat. Juice locked the door of his office, the one he'd had built off the side of the kitchen, and turned to Jax and Ope.

"Tara looks like she's back in it." He said sitting at his minimalistic desk. "Feeling better?"

Jax rolled his eyes and leaned his elbows on the desk. "Yeah, she's feeling better, but she's anything but in this. Meels?"

"She's fucked up. Doesn't want to go back to her place ever, having nightmares, she's scared and I don't know how to help her."

"I think the first thing to do is figure this shit out." Opie grumbled. "That'll make them all feel safe. Mae's been talking about not trusting the club and shit, after this little visit, we should keep her and the doc separated." He looked at Jax, more annoyed than anything. "That duo is only gonna cause us shit."

Jax nodded with an exasperated sigh. "That's the truth, brother."

"We calling Declan?" Juice asked, unable to commiserate. If anything, Amelia wanted more to do with the MC because it made her feel monumentally safer to be around all those men. "Mae's running interference, right?

Together Jax and Opie nodded, the former pulled a burner from his cut, and dialed the number. Placing the phone in the center of the desk, Jax put the call on speaker just as an Irish voice filled the air.

"Gentlemen, I trust you're well."

"No, we're not." Jax started, his fist clenched as he spoke. "Three of our women were attacked and they all fingered the Irish. You told us we could trust you." Jax didn't have a strategy for this phone call, but he didn't hesitate or falter.

There were muffled murmurs on the other end, a few hushed words between Declan and the other Kings.

"We didn't order any attacks, Jackson."

Jax sneered and turned away from the conversation. With a frustrated sigh Opie kept going. "You have nothing? None of your guys are saying shit about some Mick going rogue? How's your employee satisfaction?"

More mumbles. "We've heard one of our men has been making moves. That's something we were looking to handle internally."

"We have our traitor making moves with yours." Juice snapped, suddenly courageous. He gained confidence from his brothers and their bond of secrecy. "We find em' together and handle them separately."

Jax pulled a face, looking at Juice over his shoulder "Who the hell is he?" He mouthed to Opie who, with a little grin, shrugged in response.

"I can keep you apprised, but I think this conversation itself has been informative. Do you boys agree?"

"Yeah, I think that's something we can agree on." Jax said the cooperation they had received helped him stand a little taller.

"Day after tomorrow, I'll be in touch."

The phone clicked and they relaxed, the call was over. It really did nothing but secure them solid evidence and a mutual crisis.

* * *

><p>"Those bruises," Tara remarked, "They're really light, you look great. You're healing so well."<p>

"I've got this great arnica based cream and bath oil. Juice gave me a bath with it when we got home," she paused, "Right after it happened and he's been putting it on for me daily. It's seriously magic; I started using it in Colorado for obvious reasons."

Gemma huddled in the corner looking over Amelia with horror and fury. Tara had a large lump on her head and a constant headache, but her injuries weren't visible. Amelia's were a reminder of what Clay had done and who he had become.

"I wanted to use it, but it's questionable during pregnancy," Mae said with her hand to her throat. "So I just waited it out. It helps with the pain too right?"

Amelia nodded with a smile. "Yeah, it does, the weed helps mores though. Thank you guys for coming over. Juice has been great, but the isolation is killing me. Makes me think of Keith and shit, it's just-," she stopped as someone knocked on the front door.

"Gem, can you get that?" Amelia asked sweetly pulling her out of the trance she'd been in. "I'm still sore, you know," she added when Gemma didn't move.

"Sure darlin'." She grabbed Mae's arm. "You come with me. "

Had Gemma been with it and not lost in her planning and scheming, she would have been surprised to see Tig there. He'd done a wonderful job of keeping distant, especially after everything that had happened between him and Amelia, as well as his aversion to seeing her in such a state, but it was time.

"Let me see if she's feeling up to more visitors, okay?" Mae said with a small, polite smile.

Tig and Mae had shared a few words before Gemma even realized they were talking. Mae waddled out and after getting the okay from Amelia, sent Tig back into the living room. Not following, she snapped her fingers in Gemma's face.

"What is going on with you?"

Gemma shook her head, she was working out how to get the truth from Clay without ending up looking like Amelia or worse. "Nothing. We need to talk though. I couldn't handle our situation. I got the call about Tara before I could."

"What?" Mae asked with exasperation. "I've been thinking it's all good for days, Gem." Mae cursed herself for not calling, but it was almost impossible with someone around her at all times. "Shit, when are you going to do it? It's already been way too long."

"This time next week, I think, or maybe sooner. I have a few things I need to handle, more pressing. Wendy isn't going anywhere, Mae."

Closing her eyes, she took three long, deep breaths with her hand on her stomach while Gemma watched, highly amused. She never understood the girls although Mae keeping her blood pressure down was good, however, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at how ridiculous it looked.

"Just let me know when it's done please?" She asked with her eyes still shut. "I'd like it to be done before the baby comes."

* * *

><p>Tara excused herself, joining the other women just as Mae finished her request, to give Tig and Amelia privacy. He sat on the edge of the coffee table, his lips turned down as he looked over her. She was still his little girl, he'd made it worse by projecting his rage and hate on her rather than Des and even himself.<p>

"I'm sorry baby," he said mournfully, "For all this shit."

Nodding, Amelia forced herself to sit up. "You're an asshole."

"I know, trust me I've known that for a while, but I'm still your dad." He said, clamping a hand over his mouth as his blue eyes filled with tears. "Look at you, how are you feeling?"

Ignoring his statement, she shrugged. "Sore. Scared. Juice is really awesome with taking care of me and everything. He's a good man."

Lowering his eyes, Tig nodded, he could see how well Juice treated Amelia but he still hated it. "I'm glad."

"You talk to Des?"

"No. About the test, Meely baby,-" He was going to tell her it didn't matter, but Amelia interrupted before he could.

"I am testing. I'll test." She was just as surprised as Tig, but Amelia didn't show it. She was too proud to backtrack now. "It obviously means something to you."

Jax, Ope and Juice wandered into the living room interrupting their talk, but Amelia was grateful for the distraction as she was not ready for more of that just then. Jax smiled at Tig, smug with a kind of mysteriousness, but no one thought much of it.

"Tig," Jax pointed toward the door. "Me and Ope got some business to handle in the next few days, you want to get in on this? I think it's right up your alley."

Already knowing, and passing on that business, Juice took his spot beside Amelia. As much as he loved being with her, he hated seeing her in such a state. She'd have more scars and for him it felt like a reminder of how he'd failed her.

"What do you say we get out today? Lunch then maybe we can hit up some of our spots." Tucking her hair behind her ear, he smiled sweetly. "Some sun and fresh air will help you." Pressing his lips to her temple, he signaled his concern for more than her physical state. Amelia was scared to leave the house and it would only get worse.

Tig's eyes wandered back to Amelia as she whispered about going another day. He really wanted to continue their talk, but she was smiling, genuinely, and he couldn't bring her to tears again.

"Yeah, man, I got your back."

As Amelia and Juice continued their private conversation, Tig kissed the top of her head and with a few rough claps to Juice's back and shoulder, the others saw themselves to the door.

* * *

><p>"That was too far." Clay railed on Galen at their usual meeting spot. "Those assholes were going to rape her and they fired shots at Jax's old lady. If either of those girls were killed, you don't know what Jax or Tig would do. This was supposed to hurt them, weaken his support, and it's only made ME look guilty."<p>

Nonplussed, Galen gestured to his lackeys. "Hired thugs, they aren't always reliable you knew that. You wanted to hurt the women and their men you did that. I'm not sure what you are complaining about."

"What I'm complaining about?" Clay barked. "I said not to rape her. Those assholes almost did and talked about it, that puts this shit on my door step and gets Gemma in it."

Galen pursed his lips; his palms open between him and Clay. "I did want you asked; it's not my job to act as an advisor Clay. You underestimated them."

"No, I think I overestimated you!" He shouted his jaw tense and eyes narrowed on Galen. "If this comes down on me it's only a matter of time before they connect you." It was a spoken in a low growl, but Galen was unaffected. The Irishman was confident, too confident, to take the warning to heart.

"You're lucky that one is still breathing, she almost killed one of my men."

Clay scowled; his small twinges of guilt intensifying as he feared what would happen if anyone had solid proof of what he'd done. It was time for damage control, things had gone too far and he needed to work in shifting the blame.

* * *

><p>"Gem?" Clay still found it odd to be back in their house, welcomed and greeted lovingly. Just the feel of her arms around him made Clay feel like more of a man than he had in years.<p>

"You weren't at TM today." He remarked as she turned back to the cutting board to finish chopping the array of vegetables for dinner.

Choosing her words carefully she nodded. "I went with the girls to visit with Amelia. She's…a wreck Clay and Tig, I've never seen him so upset."

"I know." He said, his words tinged with actual regret. The chopping grew harder, more violent as he came behind her. "I think I made a mistake."

"What are you talking about?" She froze, not daring to move. "Clay, baby, what did you do?"

"Nothing," he spat. "I think I know who did though and I think I fed him some information…accidently."

As soon as he put distance between them, Gemma tensed, scared and infuriated. "You clean it up like you have to. Whoever you think did it, take care of them."

Clay didn't think that was an option, had it been he would have shot Galen earlier that day. "Gem I need you to have my back with this. I didn't hurt those girls, but it might seem like I wanted to."

"I know baby," she pet his cheek. "It's okay, I know."


	29. Chapter 29

"That arnica shit it great." Juice brushed his fingertips along the side of her face, tracing the curve of her jaw with an excited smile. "You're healing so well."

Stretched out on the small patch of beach where they had gone on their first date, Juice was working overtime to nurture Amelia. She laid back, oversized sunglasses shielding her eyes, and let the rays seep into her skin deep down, warming her to the bone.

"Thank you." Blindly she took his hand from her cheek and squeezed it. "You know, I'd be dead if it weren't for you."

"You saved yourself." Juice said staunchly. "What you did, Meels, that was incredible." Juice beamed with pride whenever he thought of what she had done.

She frowned, the corners of her mouth attempting to turn up, and nodded. "No, I mean after. The shit with Tig and now this, it's dark. It's really dark in my head, but you're the one keeping me breathing."

"Please don't say that." The strength was gone from his voice. "Please don't think you have nothing to live for but me."

Leaning up on her elbows, she shook her head. "No, I mean," she paused to find the words. "You remind me of what's good, what's coming, you remind me that I'm not alone. I need those reminders, JC."

"I'll remind you every day." He said with a smile, kissing the tip of her nose and receiving a light giggle for his efforts.

"When you spoke to Des, she gave you names, right?" Amelia flattened herself against the blanket again, her fingers dawdling in the sand. Juice sucked in his bottom lip, assuming her eyes were closed, and hesitated answering. "I can see your guilty face."

"Yeah, she did." His cheeks flushing lightly with embarrassment after being caught.

"Who?"

"Meels, it doesn't matter."

"But it does." Her voice cracked. "Tara called, Tig isn't my biological father, the test confirmed it."

Hanging his head, Juice nodded, his heart breaking for her. "I'm sorry."

"I knew." She sniffled, her fingers wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. "She said he wasn't, but I still felt like it would come back and prove her wrong."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"I have to." She sighed. "I told him before I told you about testing actually. When he visited the other day, it just came out, I'm so mad I said it."

The further the conversation moved from possible fathers the more relaxed Juice felt. He hated she was so upset, but he couldn't imagine actually telling her who else was in the potential father pool. Stretching out beside her, propped up on his elbow, Juice looked at her healing cuts and the already faded scars she wore.

"I mean, medically it's probably better you know." He was grasping for something to put a spin on it.

"Who?" Wincing as she rolled over to face him, Amelia searched his face as if it would give her some silent clue. "Who did she say?"

"There's two," he admitted. "One was more of a drunken passed out kind of thing. I don't know if it was, you know, like date rape or whatever, but she has no idea who it was."

Amelia's chin quivered, if that was the case she could understand telling Tig the truth. "Did she say she was raped? Was I conceived when she was raped, JC? Shit, I'm a fucking rape baby. I was fucking destined to," she began to cry.

"Princess, she didn't say that." As she buried her face in his chest, Juice soothingly pet her hair and tried to comfort her. "She just said she passed out and she didn't know, it sounded questionable. I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that." She still cried despite his words. "She said Kozik is an option." The words were hurried in an attempt to calm her. "I think he knows too, he's been much more interested in you, asking and shit."

Pulling away from him, Amelia looked up at Juice with a blank expression. "He said he wanted to talk to me about Des. They were together back then, but I never thought anything of it." Everything began to fall into place in Amelia's head. "When you were locked up she kept pushing him on me, trying to make us friends. I mean it worked, but it makes more sense now."

"She wanted you to have a relationship with him." Juice remarked, wiping her last tears from her chin.

"The night I was attacked he kissed my forehead before he left. I remember thinking how fatherly it felt; he was so upset and concerned about leaving me. Shit, what if Kozik's my father?"

"He's a good guy, I like him. Younger than Tig; Desi must have been a cougar."

Her face twisted with disgust, but she laughed. "Ew, stop, that's gross. He must have been like just legal though."

"You gonna test?"

"Yeah, cause if he's not, if I'm the product of some other shit, I gotta know. I'll wonder either way and I can't wonder about that. It's already fucking with my head. Like I was meant to have that shit happen to me, you know? Besides, I can't hate her if that's what happened. I just don't get why she didn't say it. When I was raped," she whispered the words, "She didn't say anything."

"Amelia," Juice was such an idiot. "She didn't say she was raped, it was something that I thought it may have sounded like. Please don't get all lost in that shit, okay? Let's deal with one thing at a time."

Feeling her heart rattling away in her chest, Amelia knew he was right. She was setting herself up for a panic attack if she didn't relax. "Yeah." Sitting up slowly, she gestured down to the water. "Let's stick our feet in before we go back."

* * *

><p>"This feels good man." Tig said with a smile as he rolled his shoulders, staring at the house from across the street. "Old school shit, the way we used to do things."<p>

"I'm killing him." Opie said coldly pulling on his gloves. "I don't care if you guys touch him, but I'm the one who kills him."

Jax and Tig nodded, they wouldn't take that from Ope. Having been so close for their entire lives, Jax could see there was more on his mind than Walt the correctional officer. This kill was important. After what happened to Mae it was necessary and Opie ached for it, but it reminded him of the fact that Stahl was still living. After all she had done to hurt his family; getting his children's mother killed, harassing Mae, scaring and manipulating her, setting him up, she deserved a painful death before she could cause another.

"You good, Ope?" Jax asked as they began to hurry across to the side entrance of the house.

"I want Stahl." He said low, just as Jax suspected. "This asshole almost got Mae and my baby killed. I'm taking care of it, but I can't leave that open to happen again."

"I know brother." He said as Tig shimmied the door open. "I know."

They moved stealthily, like they had learned to do, honing their skills over the years. Tig, as usual, was the one to wake the guard rudely and begin roughly shoving and kicking him down the stairs. At first he didn't speak, trying to get his bearings and mind straight.

"What is this shit?" He hollered as Tig sat him down in the living room. Opie looked at the photos over the mantel, kids and wife who were out of town, the only reason they went that very night. "I'm guessing you know who I am and that's why you're here."

"You're a dirty CO, Walt." Jax said, no taunting levity in his voice like Tig. "You get off on fucking with cons. I get it; we're the assholes who broke the law. We can take it, it's part of fucking up and getting caught."

"Where's your wife?" Opie asked coldly.

"You don't go near her, leave her out of this!" He struggled against the black electrical cord Tig used to bind his hands and feet. "If you wanna kill me because I kicked your ass, go ahead you fucking pussies."

"This ain't about us." Tig said, pressing his gun to Walt's head to watch him recoil with fear. "Looks like you're the pussy."

"I already said we can take it, we deserve it." Jax repeated himself with annoyance. "You need to listen."

"I should do to your wife what you let Donald Kinsella do to mine." Opie pulled off his mask and smiled at Walt, his gold tooth glittering in the low light. "You think she'd be scared? Would you protect her or listen to her scream while you count your money from the Irish?"

"Ah, shit, you're SAMCRO." He looked at each of their faces as Jax and Tig removed their ski masks as well. "Come on man that was just business."

"My wife ISN'T business." Opie howled in his face. "The women aren't business."

"I'm sorry." He blubbered. "It wasn't personal; it was just for the cash."

"She trusted you." Opie hissed, grabbing Walt by his shirt and throwing him on the coffee table. "Now, you're going to tell me who paid you to let it happen," he pulled his gun. "And if you don't or you tell me the wrong guy, I'll come back here and I'll kill your wife." Jax and Tig knew he wouldn't, but Opie had never seemed so dark.

"It wasn't in house." He shouted, terrified with the barrel of a gun in his face. "Someone approached me in the employee parking lot and offered me ten grand to hook up the room." Screwing his eyes shut Walt tried to remember the man's name. "Luke." He shouted suddenly. "Irish guy."

The three Sons looked at one another. "He got a last name?" Jax asked.

"Not one I know. I'm surprised I got that."

"Did they say why?" Tig's grin was unsettling, but no more so than the sound of Opie cocking his gun.

"No. I...they gave me a number. It's in my wallet."

Opie nodded, Jax and Tig stepped away and Walt realized this was the moment. "Please don't kill my wife."

"You telling the truth about Luke?"

"I swear it. I'm sorry about Mae, I am."

"Don't say her name."

Handing his gun to Tig, Opie wrapped his large, thick hands around Walt's throat and began to squeeze. He watched as the man's eyes bulged, his face and eyes turning red from the pressure and force. There was no regret or hesitation, Opie watched with pleasure as he strangled Walt to death.

"Ope." Jax said softly knowing Walt was long dead. "Ope, it's done, come on."

* * *

><p>"Friday." Gemma said bluntly. She'd been tired of hearing Mae badger her about dealing with Wendy. It had to be done, but the mounting suspicions and evidence against Clay proved much stronger a distraction.<p>

"And then I'll talk to Jax and Tara. I have to do it, I know you don't want me to, but I have to."

"I'll call you when it's done. We can meet and we can tell Jax together. I think you might need some help with your backbone."

"Yeah," Mae laughed, her hand on her stomach. "Thanks Gem, I'd really be in it if it weren't for you."

"Family, darlin'," she said warmly. "We do it all for family."

* * *

><p>"You scared me back there." Jax admitted as he and Opie lingered in his driveway. It was late, Mae and the kids were already asleep, as they puffed away in the darkness. "Stahl still weighing on you?"<p>

"Hale said she's back east, maybe I'll go and handle it there."

"What's this about? She's gone and I get what she did, but you really wanna stir that shit up? She'll be back, you get her then."

"She got Donna killed. We were divorced Jax, she wasn't an old lady, but Stahl's lying and the fucking games still got her killed. I need to do this. I need to know where shit is with everything so no one else dies and me and Mae don't start to hate and resent each other like I did with Donna. She's questioning the club, Jax. I need her in this with me."

"Killing Stahl won't make Mae trust SAMCRO."

"I know." Opie flicked his cigarette away. "Just feels like what I gotta do."

"Go to bed man," Jax shook his head. Having a VP with such swirling confusion in his head was dangerous. "Get some sleep, get your head on, and we'll figure this shit out. You leave Stahl for now we got enough going on. Alright?"

Opie nodded and sullenly disappeared into the house. Mae's sudden distrust shook him, it felt like the beginning of the end again and he couldn't handle it.


	30. Chapter 30

Wendy swung open her apartment door only to instantly regret the decision. Before she could shut it again, Gemma slapped her hand on the steel and stuck her boot heel in the jam. She smiled, smug and unsettling, and Wendy's fraction of strength was gone.

"What do you want?" Wendy asked as Gemma stepped in, a discerning eye judging the apartment harshly. "I have to go," she checked her watch. "If you're here to rattle my cage, you did a great job."

"Oh, sweetheart, I am not here for that." She sat at the table. "I know all about your little plans for Abel, your underhanded help, everything."

The color drained from Wendy's face. "What are you talking about?"

"Mae, Opie's old lady. Did you think she was stupid or that she'd really pick junkie guilt over us?"

Dropping her purse on the table, Wendy sat hoping to broker some deal or peace between them. "Look, I'm sorry. I tried to talk to Jax and Tara, I did, but they won't listen. You talk about family, Abel is my family."

"No, he's not." She snarled. "What you did to him ended any bond you had with that boy, destroyed any chance of as much as a glance in his direction. Now you're lying and scheming to get him? That's your second mistake."

"I learned from the best."

"Obviously you didn't. Abel is with his parents, in a loving family, and he's safe. Mae is home with Opie, her baby's going to be born soon and she gets to raise and love that child. Here you are, alone with nothing but your twelve step bullshit."

"You need to leave. If Mae knew the truth about you, she'd understand why I lied to her."

"No one is going to take your word, you're a junkie."

"I'm clean." Wendy said adamantly. "I've been clean and I'm working. The courts will see how far I've come and the kind of world Abel is living in." She stood and pointed to the door. "Go or I'll call the cops."

Gemma didn't move, her purse still held under her arm so Wendy made good on her threat. She moved from beside the small three-chair dining table to the kitchen and once her back was turned, Gemma rose and sneaked up behind her.

"You'll never see that boy." She hissed, jamming the syringe into Wendy's arm and depressing the plunger half way.

* * *

><p>Juice, Jax Opie and Chibs locked themselves in chapel on yet another call with Declan. It was the follow up and they all hoped to gain some valuable information. Jax was anxious having Chibs there, but he couldn't shut him out, all he could do was hope Clay's name wasn't mentioned. It was disconcerting that Juice and Opie weren't overly concerned about the truth coming out involving Lotto and Clay. They wanted to lay it all out, if and when Clay was named, but Jax was feeling far from that honest.<p>

"How's the hunt?" Jax asked after they exchanged customary formalities.

There were always muffled conversations between the Kings before and after Declan spoke. "We've certainly seemed to have lost control of a few stateside soldiers. For thatwe do apologize, but it's our understanding that they have an American or two they've been consorting with."

"We're still working on that." Opie grumbled.

"Any names you want to share?" Jax asked, straight to the point.

More muffled whispers. "Like I said during our previous conversation, this is a problem we'd like to handle internally."

"We got that name too. The Stockton guard who helped set up one of the attacks said Luke paid him to do it." Silence. "They had a ghost attack my VP's pregnant wife, Declan. I know the IRA doesn't mind women and children, but this ain't blowing shit up for the cause, this is hurting your business."

"He used to be Jimmy O's right hand, Luke Moran. It seems he's strayed and aligned himself with others."

With a grunt, Chibs slammed his fist on the table. "Slimy bastard."

"And his new alliance?" Jax asked knowing they'd never give that name.

"Mr. Moran can lead you to your man and you can dispose of him as you like, but you leave any other Irishman out of this."

"You'll be handling the rest internally?"

"We'll let you know."

The line went dead and the Sons left the conversation with mixed emotions. They were closer to nailing Clay, but by very little. Jax checked his phone, remembering it had buzzed twice on the call, only to be dismayed by what he read.

"Meet Mae at Wendy's, don't tell Ope. Hurry."

Jax looked at Opie and shut his phone. "I gotta go, domestic shit, again. We move on Moran soon, tomorrow night if we can. Ope, Chibs you guys figure it out." When he left with Juice tailing behind disappointed to not have been given a task, Jax stopped and turned back. "I need you to get me some numbers," he handed Juice a crumbled piece of paper.

"That it?"

"Yeah, I'm working something out."

"Working what out?"

"A way to keep me and Ope at the head of that table and the three of us patched." He whispered harshly.

"You think they'd do that?" Juice asked anxiously. "It was for the good of the club."

"I don't know, brother, but I don't want to find out either. No more lies though, it's all good. I got this."

* * *

><p>Juice walked into the house surprised to see Tig's bike out front. Amelia hadn't said she was planning to talk to him, but many of her decisions tended to either be terribly thought out or made in a flash. He shouldn't have been surprised at all. Tossing his keys in the little basket, he skimmed the mail before walking down the long entryway to find them on the couch speaking in low tones.<p>

"Oh, hey, you're early." Amelia looked up, embarrassed to see she'd been caught. "We're just uhh, talking."

"I can see that." He got it now. She didn't want him to try to sit in incase Tig got out of hand. Amelia wanted to handle it on her own. "I'm going to jump in the shower, alright?"

She smiled gratefully and nodded. "Sorry." She said as Juice jogged up the steps. "He wasn't supposed to be home yet."

"So what, you're living here now?" He asked abruptly.

"No, I'm just not ready to go back there yet. It hasn't even been two weeks. Besides, I didn't bring you here to talk about JC. I wanted to talk about Des and us."

Tig shook his head, shutting down at the mention of such a difficult conversation. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Come on, please don't do that. Our test came back, Des wasn't lying, the DNA doesn't match."

Popping up, he spun around and groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I don't care." It was garbled, but easily understood. "You're still my little girl, my youngest, my baby girl."

Amelia clamped her hand over her mouth, an action she'd picked up over all the years living with him, although she'd once thought all their similarities with genetic. "Daddy," she cried and stood to hug him.

They embraced, Amelia grimacing with pain as he used all his strength. "I'm sorry, Meels. I really am."

"Me too." He let her go, searching her face for a reason for her apology. "I'm going to test the other guy Des named."

"What?" He was dumbfounded, his face expressing just how confused and upset he was by her words. "Why? Who?"

She shook her head, not ready to tell him. "It's for my own mental state, Dad and for health reasons."

Drawing his head back, he looked at her and nodded, proud of the maturity she obviously didn't get from him. "Okay, but whoever he is, it doesn't matter baby. Fuck him, he doesn't have to know."

"Yeah, of course." That would be difficult, she knew it, but there would have to be a way especially if Kozik came back a positive match. "No one has to know."

* * *

><p>"Alright I'm here." Mae held her phone to her ear as she took the steps up to the second level. "I'm knocking right now." She said as her knuckles tapped on the door softly. Gemma ended the call and swung the door open just as Wendy had but more welcoming.<p>

"Just in time, I text Jax." Gemma smiled at the confusion on Mae's face. "What, you've never been here before?"

"What?" Mae looked around, no pictures to clue her in as to where she was; she didn't realize until she laid eyes on the couch. Wendy was there, out cold, with the needle sticking out of her vein and the tourniquet tied tight. "Oh my God, Gem. What happened?"

She moved to check Wendy's pulse, tears blurring her vision, but Gemma grabbed her arm. "Don't touch her. I only gave her the one hit, half at first, so I could position her then the rest to keep her out. Jax will be here soon."

"Jesus Christ," Mae shirked and shoved Gemma away. "What is wrong with you? You're sick, you're fucking sick. She was clean, how could you do that?"

"Hey," Gemma snapped. "She threatened my family, yours too. I saved your ass, don't you forget that. Get your shit together and take care of your mistake." Pointing toward the table, Gemma grabbed her bag. "That's what you did to help Wendy. Your statement is in the file. Tell Jax as much as you want, deal with the junkie, my part ends here."

Mae sunk down to the floor beside the couch, dazed by it all. Her eyes drifted to the needle again, the warmth she was once so fond of was never a faded memory. She remembered the marvelous feel of heroin coursing through her veins like she had just used, but at least she didn't crave or feen the way she once had. Not only could she call on the memory of the man the Niners killed at her last personal buy, but also, how easily she could lose everything she loved and the mortifying sober view of what a junkie looked like.

"Shit." She cursed, pulling herself up to her feet. "Alright," she scanned the papers again. "I can do this."

It wasn't long before Jax arrived. Mae answered the door and lead him in, careful to keep his eyes on her for the time being. She stood on one side of the small table, him on the other with his back to Wendy.

"What's going on? Why did my mom have me meet you at here?"

"I screwed up, Jax."

Jamming his hands in his pockets, Jax shook his head with an annoyed huff. "What happened?"

"I met someone at a meeting. She said her name was Casey. We got close, I guess, and she had me help build a visitation case." Mae could see his jaw tighten, already putting it together as she took a step back. "She told me about her abusive ex and how he kept her away from her son for no reason. She said he was a terrible man and his family was no better, controlling and manipulative, but you're not like that and I didn't know." Mae's voice cracked, covering her face she tried to keep from crying. "She played me, my guilt, my pregnancy; she used it all against me."

Jax stepped toward her. "What did you do, Mae?" He seethed.

She began to cry quietly, but kept her composure. "Here." She handed him the paperwork. "It's my statement. I gave her some names and numbers of people who could help. It wasn't much, but I had to tell you and I had to fix it. I didn't know, Jax, I swear. I am so sorry. I love you and Tara, those boys too. I would never hurt you."

Mae pointed to the couch behind Jax. He looked, but didn't react feeling far too much fury and very little concern for his ex-wife. Jax began grinding his teeth as he stared at Wendy then back to Mae with dark, ominous eyes.

"I went to Gemma; she helped me take care of it. No lawyer will take her case now and no judge will ever grant her visitation."

He scanned the papers, Mae's signature scrawled at the bottom of her statement along with the rest of the legal documents. Crinkling the papers as his fingers turned to fists, Jax's eyes cut right through her.

"I'm sorry, Jax, I fixed it. I didn't know, please don't hurt me." She was terrified, truly unsure of what he would do next. "I didn't mean to."

He placed the papers down and stepped around the table toward Mae. "I'm not going hurt you."

Had it been anyone else, man or woman, Jax would have hauled off physically and verbally, but he didn't. It wasn't the memory of the beating she had taken from Weston for the club, the miscarriage Jax still felt partly to blame for or even her swollen pregnant stomach. None of those thoughts were strong enough to pierce through the rage that consumed him. The only thing keeping him from hurting her was the simple fact that Mae was Opie's wife. She was married to his best friend and Jax knew how deeply Opie loved her, there was no doubting that. He couldn't hurt his brother like that, Mae either, at least when he calmed and thought his actions over. Those things aside, if he thought strategically, Jax was positive if he threatened or hurt Mae, as he initially would have, when Opie found out there would be nothing Jax could do to keep him in Charming let alone SAMCRO. Jax needed Opie as more than just his VP.

"Thank you." He said coldly. "For owning it, telling me, but don't make this mistake again."

She nodded confidently. "I still want to tell Tara."

"No." He stepped away from her and shook his head. "She doesn't need to know, better for both of you if she never finds out."

Mae trusted Jax. She nodded and grabbed her purse. "Just, to get this on record, you should call an ambulance." Mae hated herself, she stuttered through the instructions she'd managed to think up. "Tell them you came here to discuss that," she pointed to the documents, "And found her. Do it soon."


	31. Chapter 31

Mae was surprisingly calm, really just dazed, as she descended the stairs from Wendy's apartment and drove home. The sun was just setting; Kenny and Ellie were playing in the neighbor's yard waiting for her. She smiled, thanked the woman for baby-sitting and shuffled the children in without saying much of anything. At that point, her head was still a cloudy, confused mess. What she had done, or at least been a part of, didn't really hit her until she fed the children and shuffled up the steps to the bedroom. Looking at her reflection, Mae broke down, disgusted by who she saw staring back at her.

"What did I do?" She began obsessively picking at her vein, the sound of Opie's heavy boots drowned out by her cries.

Hearing her from the top of the stairs, Opie rushed into their bedroom to find her curled up on the bed, her face buried in his pillow. "Mae, what's wrong?" He asked in a panic.

"Casey, the woman from NA," she choked the words out, "It was Wendy." His body relaxed, shoulders slumping, in a mix of relief and disappointment. "I didn't know." She wailed, seeing the look on his face. If there was anyone who could make sense of it, make her feel better, she was sure it was Opie.

"Okay, it's okay, we'll fix it." He sat beside her, his large hands stroking down her arm. "Everything is going to be fine. I promise."

"Gemma fixed it." She said into the pillow. "We had a plan Ope, we were going to get Wendy arrested, ruin her chances for visitation but Gemma, she went too far."

More concerned with Mae keeping calm than what Gemma could have done to Wendy, he lifted her to lean against him, her tears soaking into his shirt instead of the pillow. "Alright, Mae, honey, just breathe. You have to calm down, please. It's all going to be fine, I love you."

"I don't know who I am." She muttered, the crying stopped as she looked up at him with pure confusion in her eyes. "I never thought I was a bad person. I never hurt anyone before."

"What happened?" Opie asked suddenly much more interested if only because of what Gemma's actions were doing to her now. Her words frightened and enraged him. Opie didn't care whose mother she was, Gemma was hearing all about this. "Mae, what did Gem make you do?"

Shaking her head, she pulled away from him. Mae despised herself, felt unworthy of Opie despite his list of kills and crimes. "She didn't make me do anything. She had a plan, but she just didn't tell me what it really was. She lied, but I still did it; I didn't say no. Jesus, Ope, what happened to me? I'm supposed to help people."

"Mae." Opie snapped, grabbing her face to force eye contact. "What happened?"

The shock from his little outburst cleared her head and Mae nodded. "The plan was supposed to be that I got Gem some heroin, just a balloon, one hit. She was going to set Wendy up, get her arrested, but she didn't. She fucking dosed her, Ope, she drugged her and had me come see it. I walked in and I just," she broke down. "What did I do to her?" She spoke in a whisper now, searching within herself for clarity. "I didn't help her; I just covered my own ass. All she wanted was to see her baby."

There was so much going on in those few sentences Opie had to replay them in his mind. "Gemma's plan was to have you buy heroin and set up Wendy?" He spoke slowly hoping for clarity for both of them.

"No." She sobbed. "That's what she said it was and I was okay with that, but Ope," she buried her face in his chest. "What if someone did that to me again? Weston did that and now I did it."

"No one will ever do that to you, Maelynn. No one's going to hurt you. You didn't do anything wrong, not to Wendy, she knew what she was doing. Dosing her is on Gemma and not on you." Unsure how to feel, Opie didn't say anything else and stroked her hair. He was furious with both of them, but he knew firsthand how dangerous and manipulative Gemma could be. She could sense his anger; Mae could feel it and that made her hate herself even more.

"I'm sorry. Guess I'm not who you thought I was, huh?" She pulled away from him. "I'm not who I thought I was. I should have helped her."

Opie exhaled a deep breath; he didn't realize he was even holding and inched closer to her. "If you ever buy heroin or anything like that again, we're going to have some serious problems." There were very few times Mae was scared of Opie, but they all paled in comparison to how his deep growl and cold eyes made her feel in that moment. "But Mae, that stupid move aside, you didn't know that was going to happen and if you went against Gem, she would have tried to do it to you." He took her hand, focusing on her wedding set and spinning it slowly around her finger. "I don't think any less of you. I'm pissed, but you were only doing what you've seen us do. You can't though, Mae, you gotta think about her." He pressed his palm to her stomach.

"It's not the plan, it's the lie. It's the dose she shot her up with and my selfish reaction that's upsetting me." Mae said defensively. "And I was thinking about our baby, I always think about her, but I was trying to protect Tara and Jax and Abel too. I wanted to show her she can't hurt my family." That was a Gemma line and Opie hated to see such darkly manipulated beliefs so dangerously deep in Mae's head.

She didn't see it. As soon as drugs, especially her personally handling them, were mentioned, Mae should have bowed out or gone to Opie, but she didn't. "You come to me next time, remember we're a team. Mae, please, no secrets. We talked about this before. Hale, Stahl, those secrets only hurt us."

"It wasn't a secret and I didn't lie. I was always going to tell you. You were busy with the club," she said defensively.

"I am never too busy for you."

She smiled a little. "It was just crazy after all the shit with the Niners and high-jacking and your junkie comments." She shook her head. "I wanted to fix my own mistake rather than burden you. Prove I'm not some stupid junkie."

"Mae, you are not some stupid junkie and you are not a burden. I love you," his fingers caressed her scarred veins, "Everything about you." He snaked his arm around her neck and kissed her deeply. "I am always here." He tapped his finger on the bed.

"Okay." She was too exhausted to talk anymore. "I'm," Opie put his hand up and shook his head abruptly stopping her from finishing her apology.

"Don't apologize." He pulled his boots back on and stood up. "Just don't do it again, Mae, I mean it." There was a flash of anger as he spoke, but Mae accepted it.

Nodding, she laid back down. "Amelia is coming over while you're with the guys."

"Good. I don't want you here alone and I don't want you talking to Gemma anymore." Mae nodded, feeling foolish as he headed for the door. "Full disclosure and all, I killed Walt last night."

"Oh." Mae didn't know how to feel, she was relieved and almost honored, but she couldn't help but think of his children. "Okay. I guess there's going to be a lot of death coming up, a lot of blood?"

"Yeah, there is. Not ours though, we're doing it to keep everyone safe."

"I know." She just hated it was even an issue. "Be safe, please."

"Always." He forced a smile to hide his rage. "Love you."

She smiled and sat up to wait for Amelia. "Love you too, Harry."

* * *

><p>"Galen." Gemma whispered conspiratorially, leaning over the ashtray as she evaded her son's intense gaze. "There's no one else that would help him, if we're looking at those Micks. He's already trying to push the blame."<p>

Jax rolled his jaw, the ash on his cigarette growing as he stared at her, but she kept her eyes low. "How do you know?"

"I just know."

With a dark laugh, he shook his head. "That doesn't mean shit. We know that now too. What we just need is hard evidence." Jax snapped, his fist rattling the table in frustration.

"He was adamant that he didn't want the girls getting hurt, but whoever it was wants it to fall on him."

Leaning back, the wooden chair creaked as he pressed his full weight against it. Jax began grinding his teeth as he thought on all the tiny pieces of information floating around him. "You told him about that road we take home and about Amelia's rape, didn't you?"

"It wasn't meant to hurt them, I swear to you, Jackson. I told him in passing during regular conversations, not with this in mind."

Jax smiled and leaned forward again. "Get me his burner. The next time we're at the clubhouse for church you take it. I'll get you a matching one to buy us some time."

"He'll know it was me." She said suddenly fearful.

"Afraid you'll end up like the girls?" He asked with a snarl, but all Gemma gave him was a terrified look. "That shit with Wendy, you made sure that doesn't blow back on you or Mae?"

"Of course I did." Her fear diminished and Gemma was glowing with pride at the mention of Wendy and her plan. "Next time you come to me, don't go dragging anyone into your shitty little schemes."

"I did it for you."

"And you got nothing out of it?" He asked, standing, and slipped his cut back on. She didn't reply. "Yeah that's what I thought."

"What would you have wanted me to do?" She asked, offended he didn't appreciate her help.

"Come to me. I could have handled it faster and with less people involved. Shit, Ma, Mae is in recovery. Opie is going to lose his mind and if something happened, if she saw that and shot up?" He shook his head. "You opened up the potential for so much shit I don't fucking need right now. I told Mae and I'm telling you, next time come to me. You put risk on the club and Ope's family. You should know better, don't teach Tara or Mae that shit. I gotta go. Talk to Clay. I need more."

* * *

><p>Amelia took the steps slowly. Her fingers gripped the railing tight as she made her way down. Meeting her at the bottom of the steps, Juice smiled proudly. He wasn't sure how she would react to hear it, but he was terrified the attack would send her into a self-pitying, dark spiral and he wouldn't be able to help, but she seemed to be blossoming. Taking her hand, he helped her to the couch.<p>

"Look at you taking the steps all by yourself. You're doing great, baby." Looking over at her he noticed she'd put some makeup on, it seemed odd.

Rolling her eyes petulantly, Amelia twisted her hair into a clip and smiled as he beamed at her. "You know Amelia does mean striving. I guess I was made for it, huh?"

"Yeah, you were. Meels, I gotta go meet Opie and Jax. Will you be okay?"

She shook her head and leaning forward very suddenly, kissed him urgently. "You haven't really kissed me." Amelia whispered, resting her forehead on his and staring into his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He pulled away from her, clasping her hands in his on his lap. "I just…I don't want to hurt you and I wasn't sure what was going on in your head."

"Then ask." She said sadly. "I thought you were upset or something changed because of what happened."

"God, no." Dropping her hands, Juice held her face, his thumbs wiping the few tears betraying her. "The only thing that changed is," he paused, unsure of how to word it, "How grateful I am for you."

Amelia smiled, her cheeks squished between his palms and nodded. "Okay. I love you."

"I love you desperately, Amelia Jane. Don't ever question that." Leaning into his palm, she closed her eyes and smiled in agreement. "Now, are you okay?"

Her chin trembled. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"I need you to talk to Kozik, get him to stay quiet. I need him to keep this paternity shit under wraps." She looked at him again, her eyes suddenly dark with worry. "It'll kill Tig. I am testing, but I don't want Kozik to know. I'm going to tell him it's not a match either way."

Juice closed his eyes, his shoulders falling a little. "You really think that's best? Secrets in the club are dangerous, Princess."

"It's a family secret. This has nothing to do with the club. Please, Juice, please don't tell either of them."

Reluctantly, Juice nodded. "Alright, yeah, I won't say shit."

"Thank you." She stood with him and he gave her a questioning look. "I'm going to visit Mae while you guys have your secret little meeting."

"You girls are trouble." He grabbed her purse from the end table as he snatched up his keys. "You feeling up for a ride or want me to drop you off in your car?"

Amelia pouted, "Car please. Sorry. I'm still really sore, Juicy."

"No pouting." He tapped her lips with his index finger. "It's fine, they'll just bust my balls. I'll give you a call when I'm on my way to pick you up."


End file.
